r 


Sally Wister  :s  Journa 

A  TVue  Narrative 


a   Quaker  Maiden's   Account 
of  h<sr  Experiences  wifh  Officers  of 

Arrrjy  ~ ^777  —1778 


SALLY 

WI  S  T  E  R'S 

JOURNAL 


"The  British  Grenadier. 
See  page  127. 


SALLY 

WISTER'S 

JOURNAL 


A  True  Narrative 

BEING  A  QUAKER  MAIDEN'S  ACCOUNT 
OF  HER  EXPERIENCES  WITH  OFFICERS 
OF  THE  CONTINENTAL  ARMY,  1777-1778 

EDITED    BY 

ALBERT  COOK  MYERS 


WITH     REPRODUCTIONS    OF    PORTRAITS, 
MANUSCRIPTS,       RELICS      AND      VIEWS 


FERRIS  &  LEACH   •  PUBLISHERS 

Nos.   29-31     SOUTH    SEVENTH    STREET,    PHILADELPHIA 


COPYRIGHT,   1902,   BY  FIRRIS  &  LEACH. 


INTRODUCTION 

ON  the  25th  day  of  September,  1777,  just  two 
weeks  after  the  Battle  of  the  Brandywine, 
the  British  Army  entered  Germantown. 
On  the  same  day,  and  but  a  few  miles  distant  from 
the  place,  Sally  Wister,  a  bright  and  charming 
Quaker  girl,  sixteen  years  of  age,  began  to  "  keep  a 
sort  of  journal  "  of  her  observations  and  experiences. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  Daniel  Wister,  a  prosperous 
merchant  of  Philadelphia,  and  was  at  this  time  living 
with  her  family  in  the  retired  farm  house  of  the  widow 
Hannah  Foulke,  on  the  Wissahickon,  among  the  hills 
of  Gwynedd,  or  North  Wales,  some  fifteen  miles  away 
from  the  storm  and  stress  of  those  anxious  and  exciting 
days  in  the  war-blighted  city.  Here  she  stayed  until 
the  following  July,  when,  the  British  having  left  Phila 
delphia,  she,  with  the  other  members  of  the  family, 
returned  to  their  home  in  the  city.  During  all  this 
time  the  Journal  was  kept  up,  and  occasional  entries 

M8G137 


6  Journal   of  [imro- 

made,    growing    frequent    and    detailed    as  interesting 
events  crowded  one  upon  another,  or  brief  and  infre- 

« «  ','  '{juerit  ,'w.hen   "a   dull   round   of  the  same  thing  over 
again"  made  her  declare,   "I  shall  hang  up   my   pen 

,' .' ;   V^ritil;  somcthmg  cffers  worth  relating. ' ' 

The  Journal  is  addressed  by  its  author  to  an  intimate 
school  friend,  Deborah  Norris,  a  descendant  of  notable 
colonial  ancestry,  and  destined  to  become  notable 
herself  in  after  years.  Deborah  Norris  lived  with  her 
widowed  mother  in  the  Norris  mansion  adjoining  the 
State  House  in  Philadelphia,  and  she  was  fully  as 
intelligent  and  vivacious  as  our  journalist.  The  young 
friends  apparently  had  kept  up  a  frequent  correspond 
ence  until  the  British  occupation  of  the  city  ;  then 
communication  being  practically  broken  off,  Sally's 
confidences  to  Deborah  took  the  form  of  a  journal. 
In  the  opening  lines  she  says  : 

"  Tho'  I  have  not  the  least  shadow  of  an  oppor- 
' '  tunity  to  send  a  letter,  if  I  do  write,  I  will  keep 
' '  a  sort  of  journal  of  the  time  that  may  expire  before 
"  I  see  thee  :  the  perusal  of  it  may  some  time  hence 
"give  pleasure  in  a  solitary  hour 

Curiously  enough,  it  seems  that  this  interesting 
chronicle  did  not  reach  the  eye  for  which  it  was 
intended  until  long  years  after  the  writer's  death  ;  then 


Deborah  Logan 
"Debby  Norris" 


Sally   Wister 


it  was  loaned  by  Mr.  Charles  J.  Wister,  her  brother, 
to  her  old  friend,  who  had  then  become  Mrs.  George 
Logan,  the  elegant  and  cultured  mistress  of  Stenton. 
In  returning  the  manuscript  to  Mr.  Wister,  Mrs. 
Logan  wrote  : 

"  D.  Logan  presents  her  best  respects  to  her  ffriend 
"  C.  J.  Wister,  and  feels  herself  at  a  loss  for  adequate 
"  expressions  when  she  would  return  him  thanks  for 
"  the  trouble  he  has  taken  to  oblige  her,  but  which  she 
"gratefully  acknowledges. 

"D:  L:  returns  the  manuscript  which  he  kindly 
"lent  her  some  time  ago,  and  which  has,  together 
"  with  the  memory  of  the  beloved  writer,  brought 
"vividly  to  her  mind  days  long  since  past;  and  if, 
"  (as  she  has  since  thought  might  have  been  the  case) 
'  '  he  meant  to  have  given  her  her  own  Letter  which 
"he  then  put  into  her  hands,  she  would  be  much 
*'  obliged  to  him  to  destroy  it.  ... 

"Stenton,   May  Zftb,    [I8J3O."1 

The  Journal  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  inter 
esting  and  valuable  that  has  come  down  to  us.  Its 

1  Original  letter  in  collection  of  Mr.  Charles  J.  Wister,  Jr.,  of 
Germantown.  Mrs.  Logan  possibly  first  learned  of  the  Journal. 
from  her  friend  and  fellow-worker  in  history,  John  F.  Watson, 
either  personally  or  from  his  printed  work,  "  The  Annals  of 
Philadelphia,"  published  in  1830,  which  contains  brief  extracts. 
from  the  Journal. 


8  Journal   of  [imro- 

faithful  and  clever  descriptions  of  persons  and  events, 
its  quaint  moralizings,  its  nai've  confessions  of  likes  and 
dislikes,  its  roguishness  and  genial  good  humor,  and 
withal  its  dramatic  spirit  make  it  an  extremely  inter 
esting  human  document.  It  conveys  a  pleasing 
impression  of  the  life  of  a  young  girl  and  lends  a 
vividness  and  a  reality  to  the  characters  and  incidents 
of  the  time  that  more  formal  records  fail  to  supply. 
It  thus  assumes  a  positive  value  as  a  historical  picture 
of  social  conditions  in  the  midst  of  some  of  the  most 
important  scenes  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle. 

In  the  nine  months  which  the  Journal  covers 
occurred  the  British  capture  of  Philadelphia,  the  Battle 
of  Germantown,  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  the 
skirmishes  before  Washington's  intrenchments  at  White- 
marsh,  the  winter  encampment  at  Valley  Forge,  the 
Conway  Cabal  against  Washington,  the  acknowledg 
ment  of  American  Independence  by  France,  and  the 
Mischianza  and  the  other  gaieties  of  the  British  in 
Philadelphia.  "  But  a  little  distance  away  from  the 
hills  of  Gwynedd,"  says  Mr.  Howard  M.  Jenkins, 
the  historian  of  Gwynedd,  "  the  greatest  actors  in  the 
Revolutionary  drama  were  playing  their  parts, — 
Washington,  Greene,  Lafayette,  Wayne,  Steuben, 
Kalb,  and  all  the  distinguished  list." 


auction]         Sally   Wister  9 

To  the  Foulke  mansion  come  General  Smalhvood, 
commander  of  the  Maryland  troops,  Colonel  Wood, 
of  Virginia,  Major  Ogden,  of  New  Jersey  —  three 
future  governors  of  their  respective  States  —  and  many 
other  important  figures  of  this  crucial  period  in  the 
Nation's  history.  Generals,  colonels,  majors,  captains, 
resplendent  in  red  and  buff  and  blue,  and  glittering  in 
sashes,  swords  and  epaulets,  pass  and  repass  before  the 
unaccustomed  and  dazzled  eyes  of  the  Quaker  maiden, 
and  are  quaintly  portrayed  in  her  pages. 


Sally  Wister  was  born  July  20,  1761,  in  an  old 
house  belonging  to  her  grandfather  Wister,  at  what  is 
now  325  Market  Street,  Philadelphia.  She  had  an 
interesting  and  distinguished  ancestry.  Her  father  was 
of  pure  German,  and  her  mother  of  pure  Welsh 
descent. 

Her  grandfather  John  Wister  (1708-1789)  was  a 
Palatine,  a  native  of  the  village  of  Hilsbach  in  Baden, 
seventeen  miles  southeast  of  Heidelberg.  He  was  a 
son  of  Hans  Caspar  Wiister  (1671  -  1726),  of  Hils 
bach,  J'dger  in  the  service  of  the  Elector  Palatine  ; l 

1  "  Herr  Hans  Caspar  Wiister,  Churpfalzischer  Jiiger  zu 
Hillsbach." 


io  Journal   of 

In  1727,  shortly  after  the  death  of  his  father,  John 
Wister,  then  a  youth  of  nineteen,  set  out  for  Pennsyl 
vania  to  join  his  brother  Caspar,  who  had  emigrated 
ten  years  previously.  After  a  voyage  of  four  months 
he  arrived  at  Philadelphia  in  September  of  that  year. 

He  entered  upon  the  business  of  a  wine  merchant, 
and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  amassed  a  considerable 
fortune,  a  large  part  of  which  he  invested  in  real  estate. 
In  1731  he  purchased  the  property  on  what  is  now 
Market  Street,  where  he  made  his  home  for  many 
years  ;  and  it  was  here  that  his  granddaughter  Sally 
was  born. 

As  years  went  by  he  purchased  large  tracts  of  land 
in  Germantown,  and  in  1744,  on  one  of  these, 
bordering  on  Main  Street,  he  erected  a  comfortable 
and  spacious  mansion,  which  he  used  as  a  summer 
home.  Ample  grounds  extended  to  the  east  of  the 
house  in  a  large  tract  of  field  and  woodland,  a  portion 
of  which,  still  owned  by  the  Wister  family,  has  been 
known  for  more  than  a  century  as  Wister' s  Woods. 
The  old  mansion,  which  is  located  on  Germantown 
Avenue  near  Queen  Lane,  has  descended  to  a  great- 
grandson,  its  present  occupant,  Charles  J.  Wister, 
Esquire,  and  is  one  of  the  cherished  landmarks  of 
Germantown. 


1  § 


Sally  Wister  n 

John  Wister1  married,  as  his  second  wife,  Anna 
Catharine  Rubenkam  (1709-  1770),  a  native  of  the 
city  of  Wanfried  in  Hesse  -  Cassel,  Germany, 
daughter  of  John  Philip  Rubenkam,  a  clergyman  of 
that  city.  By  her  he  had  one  son,  Daniel  Wister 
(1738-9—1805),  who  was  married  by  Friends' 
ceremony,  May  5,  1760,  to  Lowry  Jones,  of 
Philadelphia. 

Lowry  Jones  was  descended  from  the  Welsh  planters 
of  Merion  and  Gwynedd,  in  means,  education,  and 
character  among  the  very  best  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Pennsylvania.  Her  father  was  Owen  Jones  (1711  — 
1793),  of  Lower  Merion  and  Philadelphia,  at  one 
time  Provincial  Treasurer  of  Pennsylvania.  Owen 
Jones  was  a  son  of  Jonathan  Jones  (1680—1770), 
a  native  of  Bala,  in  Merionethshire,  Wales,  and  a 
grandson  of  Dr.  Edward  Jones  (c.  1645  —  1737),  of 
Bala,  Merionethshire,  who  was  the  leader  of  the  band 
of  Welsh  settlers  who  came  over  in  1682  to  settle  in 
the  Welsh  Barony.  The  wife  of  Dr.  Edward  Jones 
was  Mary,  daughter  of  Dr.  Thomas  Wynn  (c.  1630  — 


1  John  Wister's  third  wife  was  Anna  Thoman  (1720-  1778), 
a  nun  from  the  Ephrata  Cloisters,  in  Lancaster  County.  She  was 
a  native  of  Bubendorf,  Switzerland,  and  came  to  Pennsylvania  in 
1736  with  her  father,  Durst  Thoman,  and  his  family. 


12  Journal   of 


1692),  of  Caerwys,  Flintshire,  Wales,  an  early 
Quaker  pamphleteer,  and  a  passenger  on  the  Welcome 
with  William  Penn  in  1682. 

Lowry  Jones's  grandmother,  Gainor,  wife  of 
Jonathan  Jones,  was  a  daughter  of  Robert  Owen 
(c.  1657-1697),  of  Fron  Goch,  Merionethshire,  an 
emigrant  to  Pennsylvania  in  1690,  and  a  descendant 
of  a  twelfth  century  chieftain,  Rhirid  Flaidd,  Lord  of 
Penllyn,  and  of  Edward  I.  of  England.  Robert 
Owen's  wife,  Rebecca  Humphrey,  was  herself  a 
descendant  of  Edward  III.  of  England. 

The  mother  of  Lowry  Jones,  Susanna  (1719- 
1801),  wife  of  Owen  Jones,  was  a  daughter  of  Hugh 
Evans  (1682-1772),  by  his  wife  Lowry  Williams 
(1680-1762),  and  a  granddaughter  of  Rees  John 
Williams,  an  emigrant  from  Merionethshire  in  1684. 
The  wife  of  Rees  John  Williams  was  Hannah  Price 
(1656-1741),  daughter  of  Richard  ap  Griffith  ap 
Rhys,  a  descendant  of  Owen  Glendower  Tudor,  and 
of  Edward  I.,  King  of  England.1  Hugh  Evans  was 
a  son  of  Thomas  Evans  (1651  —  1738),  of  Gwynedd, 
in  Pennsylvania,  an  emigrant  from  Wales  in  1698, 
by  his  wife  Ann,  and  a  grandson  of  Evan  ap  Evan, 

1  Thomas  Allen  Glenn,  "  Merion  in  the  Welsh  Tract." 


auction]         Sally   Wister  13 

who  was  a  descendant  of  Owen,  Prince  of  Gwynedd, 
and  of  Bleddyn,  Prince  of  Wales.1 

Sally  Wister  was  thus  a  type  of  the  new  composite 
race  that  had  sprung  up  in  Pennsylvania.  In  her  veins 
was  mingled  the  best  blood  of  two  great  peoples,  and 
doubtless  it  was  to  this  blending  of  Teutonic  warmth 
and  earnestness  with  Cymric  sensibility  to  poesy 
and  romance  that  we  owe  much  of  the  charm  and 
sprightliness  of  her  Journal. 


Of  Sally's  school  days  little  information  has  been 
obtained,  but  from  what  can  be  learned  she  was 
sent  to  the  school  for  girls  kept  by  the  eminent  Quaker 
philanthropist,  Anthony  Benezet.  This  institution, 
which  was  established  in  1755,  is  said  to  have  had  a 
high  moral  and  literary  tone  and  was  patronized  by  the 
best  classes  of  citizens.2  Here  doubtless  Sally  was 
taught  not  only  the  elementary  branches  but  received 
some  instruction  in  the  higher  classic  and  literary 
studies  ;  at  least  the  Journal  would  indicate  that  she 
had  some  knowledge  of  Latin  and  French.  The  style 

1  Howard  M.  Jenkins,   "  Historical  Collections  of  Gwynedd." 

2  James  P.  Wickersham,     "  History  of   Education    in     Penn 
sylvania,"  a  1 6. 


14  Journal  of  [intro- 

of  the  Journal  and  the  allusions  in  it  likewise  show 
that  very  early  she  had  formed  habits  of  reading,  and 
was  familiar  with  the  literature  of  the  time.  She  was 
fond  of  verse,  and  Pope,  if  we  may  judge  by  her 
frequent  use  of  quotations  from  his  writings,  was  her 
favorite  poet.  She  also  was  familiar  with  at  least  some 
of  the  fiction  of  the  age,  and  expresses  her  delight  on 
receiving  a  "  charming  collection"  of  books,  which 
included  The  Lady's  Magazine,  the  famous  but  rather 
racy  novel,  Fielding's  "  Joseph  Andrews,"  and 
Brooke's  "Juliet  Grenville." 

Probably,  too,  it  was  at  school,  as  was  the  custom 
of  the  time,  that  she  learned  the  '  *  needle  wisdom  ' ' 
and  the  sampler  stitching  upon  which  the  gallant  Cap 
tain  Dandridge  compliments  her. 

To  the  Benezet  School  also  Deborah  Norris  was 
sent l  and  it  was  here  that  the  friendship  of  the  two 
girls  began.2  A  bunch  of  school-girls'  letters 
addressed  to  Sally  give  us  interesting  glimpses  of  the 
life  of  the  girls  of  that  day  and  show  that  she  had  a 
number  of  warm  friends.  Among  the  most  intimate 

1  Mrs.  Wister,  "  Worthy  Women  of  Our  First  Century,"  282. 

2  In  a  memorandum  made  January  4,  1780,  in  the  back  part  of 
her  manuscript  Journal  Sally  says  that  this  friendship   "  commenced 
at  school." 


Mrs.  William  Ra.vU 

"Sally  Burge" 


Sally   Wister  15 

of  these  were  Deborah  Morris,  Polly  Fishbourne,  Sally 
Jones,  Anna  Rawle,  Peggy  Rawle,  and  Sally  Burge, 
who  represented  some  of  the  best  Quaker  families  of 
the  city,  and  who  in  later  years  were  notable  figures 
in  Philadelphia  society.  These  young  girls,  then  from 
fourteen  to  sixteen  years  of  age,  formed  a  little 
"Social  circle,"  which  was  very  exclusive.  To  this 
select  society  some  of  their  boy  friends  were  admitted 
for  a  time;  but  in  1776,  apparently,  the  boys  had 
fallen  from  grace.  At  least  that  is  the  natural  inference 
drawn  from  a  letter  of  one  of  Sally's  correspondents, 
written  in  September  of"  this  year,  while  the  "merry 
companions ' '  were  separated  and  still  living  in  their 
summer  homes. 

"I  shall  be  glad,"  writes  the  young  girl,  "when 
"  we  get  together  again,  us  Girls,  I  mean,  for  as  to 
"  the  boys  I  fancy  we  must  Give  them  up. 
"  Willingly,  I  shall  ;  nor  have  I  the  most  distant 
"  desire  of  being  with  them  again.  I  think  we  Pass 
"our  time  more  agreeably  without  than  with  them." 

This  fall  from  favor,  however,  if  such  it  were,  was 
only  temporary,  for  after  the  departure  of  the  British 
and  the  return  of  the  exiled  families  we  find  the  young 
men  restored  to  their  former  standing,  and  the  young 
ladies  not  averse  to  receiving  other  "  agreeable  mem- 


16  Journal   of 

bers  "  to  their  circle.  One  of  Sally's  friends  writes  : 
"  But  the  Doctor,  the  gay,  the  alert  Doctor,  what  a 
pity  he  does  not  try  to  get  admitted  into  the  Social 
circle.  He  would  be  an  agreeable  member,  I  think." 


In  personal  appearance  Sally  was  tall1  and  well- 
formed.  Her  silhouette  shows  that  she  had  full,  clear- 
cut  features  ;  and  a  reference  2  in  the  Journal  leads  us 
to  believe  that  she  was  a  blonde. 

In  spite  of  her  Quaker  training  she  takes  not  a  little 
worldly  pride  in  her  dress  and  appearance.  We  are 
fully  informed  of  her  various  costumes  and  we  thus 
gain  a  very  valuable  picture  of  the  dress  of  a  young 
girl  at  that  day.  When  she  hears  that  officers  are 
coming  to  the  house  she  and  her  young  friends  put 
their  "dress  and  lips"  "in  order  for  conquest." 
The  next  day  she  wore  her  "chintz  and  look'd 
smarter  than  night  before."  She  is  much  mortified  to 
have  Captain  Dandridge  find  her  wearing  her  greenish 
"  skirt  and  dark  short  gown.  Provoking." 

By  the  latter  part  of  1777  she  was  evidently  feeling 

1  See  Deborah  Norris's  letters  in  Appendix,  pages   197  and  195. 
3  Page   l8z. 


Sally  Wister  17 

quite  grown  up  and  had  adopted  a  more  formal  dress 
than  the  girlish  one  she  had  been  wearing.  "I 
dressed  myself,"  she  writes,  "  [in  my]  silk  and  cotton 
gown.  It  is  made  without  an  apron.  I  feel  quite 
awkwardish,  and  prefer  the  girlish  dress."  At  another 
time  she  wears  a  "  light  chintz,  which  is  made  grown- 
fashion,  kenting  handkerchief,  and  linen  apron." 
Again  she  notes  with  satisfaction  that  she  had  on  her 
locket  and  her  "  white  whim  (?),  quite  as  nice  as  a 
First-day  in  town."  In  the  closing  pages  of  the 
Journal  she  appears  resplendent  in  a  "new  purple  and 
white  striped  Persian,  white  petticoat,  muslin  apron, 
gauze  cap  and  handkerchief. ' ' 

Here  and  there  we  catch  glimpses  of  her  housewifely 
employments.  She  is  skilled  in  "needle  wisdom." 
She  sets  "a  stocking  on  the  needles  and  intends  to  be 
mightily  industrious."  She  is  "  darning  an  apron." 
One  day  she  rises  "  at  half-past  four  "  in  the  morning 
and  irons  "  industriously  till  one  o'clock."  On 
another  she  "Read  and  work'd  by  turns."  Her 

% 

evenings  are  spent  in  "reading  and  chatting." 


The  Wister  family  at  the  opening  of  the   Journal 
consisted  of  its  head,  Daniel  Wister,  thirty-eight  years 


Journal   of 


of  age,  his  wife  Lowry,  four  years  his  junior,  and 
their  five  children,  —  Sally,  the  eldest,  aged  sixteen  ; 
Betsy,  aged  thirteen  ;  Hannah,  aged  ten  ;  Susanna, 
aged  four,  and  John,  an  infant  of  eighteen  months. 
They  had  evidently  spent  the  summer  of  1776  at  their 
country  house  in  Germantown,1  and  in  the  autumn 
had  probably  returned  to  their  city  home  ;  but  the 
British  capture  of  New  York  and  the  threatening  out 
look  for  Philadelphia  doubtless  induced  them  thus  soon 
to  leave  the  city  and  take  refuge  at  the  Foulke  farm. 
That  they  had  made  their  quarters  here  as  early  as 
October,  1776,  would  seem  to  be  true  from  the  state 
ment  of  Sally  in  the  Journal  under  date  of  June  5, 
1778,  that  they  had  resided  at  North  Wales  for 
twenty  months.  At  any  rate  they  were  there  in 
January,  1777,  as  is  evidenced  by  a  letter  2  from  Deborah 
Norris,  dated  January  27,  1777,  and  addressed: 
"ffor  Sally  Wister  ^  North  Wales." 

•  jun 

The  old  Foulke  house,  which  still  remains  in  a  good 

1  See  letters  of  Peggy  Rawle,  dated  July  28,   and  September  7, 

1776,  addressed  to  "  Sally  Wister  in  Germantown,"  in  Appendix. 

2  See    letter   in    Appendix.       That    the    family    were    still    in 
Gwynedd  in  July  is  shown  by  a  letter,  dated   Philadelphia,  July  6, 

1777,  written   by  John  Wister    to  his  grandchildren,    Sally  and 
Betsy    Wister,    at    North    Wales.  —  "Memoir    of     Charles   J. 
Wister,"  I.,  124. 


Auction]         Sally   Wister  19 

state  of  preservation,  was  for  its  time  a  large  and 
imposing  mansion.  It  is  located  at  the  present  Penllyn 
Station  of  the  Reading  Railway,  on  a  gentle  elevation 
a  few  hundred  yards  to  the  east  of  Wissahickon  Creek. 
That  part  of  the  house  which  was  standing  at  the  time 
of  the  Revolution  is  built  of  stone,  now  coated  with 
plaster,  and  is  two  stories  high.  It  was  probably 
erected  by  Hannah  Foulke' s  husband,  William  Foulke 
(1708—1775),  and  occupies  the  site  of  an  earlier 
dwelling  built  by  the  latter' s  grandfather,  the  emigrant 
ancestor  of  the  Foulke  family,  Edward  Foulke,1  a 
Welshman,  who  came  to  Pennsylvania  in  1698  and 
purchased  seven  hundred  acres  of  land  in  this  part  of 
Gwynedd  Township.  In  recent  times  additions, 
which  seem  out  of  harmony,  were  made  to  the  east 
and  west  ends  of  the  dwelling,  and  it  now  presents 
the  long,  irregular  front  shown  in  the  view  here  repro 
duced.  The  central  ivy-covered  portion  is  the  original 
house,  and  was  the  scene  of  most  of  the  events 
described  in  the  Journal. 

A  short  distance  to  the  west  of  the  house,  near  the 


1  Edward  Foulke  (1651-1741)  in  1702  wrote  an  interesting 
account  in  Welsh  of  his  emigration  and  of  his  line  of  descent  from 
a  Welsh  chieftain  of  the  Twelfth  Century,  Rhirid  Flaidd,  Lord  of 
Penllyn,  in  Merionethshire. — Jenkins,  lt  Gwynedd." 


20  Journal   of 


Wissahickon,  was  the  ancient  Foulke  Mill,  so 
frequently  mentioned  by  Sally.  It  finally  fell  into 
disuse,  and  was  removed  in  1896.  When  I  visited 
the  place  a  few  months  since  all  that  remained  to  mark 
the  site  were  a  great  opening  in  the  ^arth  and  two 
stone  mill-burrs. 

Inside  the  original  dwelling  but  few  changes  have 
been  made  ;  the  old  fire-places,  the  low  ceilings,  the 
plain  woodwork,  and  the  other  marks  of  its  colonial 
simplicity  are  still  preserved.  The  arrangement  of  the 
rooms  as  described  by  Sally  Wister  also  remains. 
*'  The  house,"  she  writes,  "has  four  rooms  on  a 
floor,  with  a  wide  entry  running  through.'" 

William  Foulke  had  died  in  1775,  bequeathing  the 
farm  and  mill  to  his  son  Jesse  Foulke,  but  leaving  to 
his  wife  Hannah  a  life  interest  in  the  estate.  She  was 
now  living  with  her  three  unmarried  children  :  Jesse, 
aged  thirty-five,  the  head  of  the  family  and  the  owner 
and  operator  of  the  farm  and  mill  ;  Priscilla,  aged 
thirty-three,  and  Lydia,  aged  twenty-one. 

The  inventory  of  William  Foulke'  s  personal  estate, 
made  at  his  death,  and  printed  in  full  in  the  Appendix, 
is  typical  of  that  of  the  well-to-do  Quaker  farmer  of 
the  period.  From  the  list  can  be  formed  a  perfectly 
clear  and  definite  idea  of  the  general  equipment  of  the 


Sally   Wister  21 

house  and  farm.  The  household  items  show  that  the 
dwelling  was  plainly  but  comfortably  furnished  for  that 
day  ;  although  the  floors  were  bare,  and  the  walls 
unadorned  save  by  mirrors.  Except  for  the  "Tea 
Spoons  &  Tongs"  and  the  "  China  &  Delf  wares  " 
we  miss  the  silver  and  other  articles  of  luxury  which 
are  more  usually  found  in  inventories  of  city  houses. 
From  the  internal  evidence  of  the  Journal  it  would 
seem  that  the  Foulkes  retained  one  side  of  the  house 
and  gave  up  the  other  with  its  furnishings  to  the 
Wisters.  The  Wisters,  however,  kept  their  own 
table.  Apparently  the  domestic  arrangements  of  the 
families  were  in  every  way  pleasant,  and  they  lived  on 
the  most  intimate  and  friendly  terms.  They  con 
sidered  themselves  "as  of  kin  by  marriage,"  Hannah 
Foulke' s  son,  Amos  Foulke,  of  Philadelphia,  having 
married  Hannah  Jones,  Mrs.  Wister' s  sister.  Sally 
Wister  was  accustomed  to  speak  of  Mrs.  Foulke  as 
"Aunt  Foulke"  and  of  the  Foulke  children  as 
"Cousin." 

It  was  not  for  long  that  the  Wisters  and  Foulkes 
were  to  enjoy  the  peace  and  quiet  of  their  solitary 
situation.  Very  soon  the  signs  and  sounds  of  war 
made  their  way  thither.  In  the  first  entries  of  the 


22  Journal     Of  [Intro- 

Journal  we  are  introduced  to  alarms  and  affrights. 
The  families  are  startled  by  "  a  great  noise."  A 
"  large  number  of  waggons"  appear,  and  three  hun 
dred  of  the  Philadelphia  militia  draw  up  to  the  door 
begging  for  drink.  Sally  is  "mightily  scar'd"  and 
runs  "in  at  one  door  and  out  at  the  other,  all  in  a 
shake  with  fear  ;  but  after  awhile,  seeing  the  officers 
appear  gentlemanly,  and  the  soldiers  civil,"  her  "fears 
were  in  some  measure  dispell'd,  tho' "  her  "teeth 
rattled,"  and  her  "hand  shook  like  an  aspen  leaf." 

The  next  day  she  and  "  the  delicate,  chicken- 
hearted  Liddy "  Foulke  again  are  "  wretchedly- 
sear' d"  by  a  false  report  that  the  dreaded  Hessians 
were  approaching  "and  had  actually  turn'd  into  our 
lane."  "Well,  the  fright  went  off,"  but  she  hears 
that  the  forces  are  drawing  nearer  and  expects  soon 
"to  be  in  the  midst  of  one  army  or  t'other,"  perhaps 
in  the  very  centre  of  "  war,  and  ruin,  and  the  clang  of 
arms." 

On  the  following  day,  however,  she  experienced 
her  "greatest  fright."  A  party  of  Virginia  light 
horse  rode  up  to  the  door,  and  mistaking  the  red  and 
blue  of  their  uniforms  for  the  British  colors  "fear 
tack'd  wings  to"  her  feet  and  she  fled  to  the  shelter 
of  the  house. 


auction]         Sally   Wister  23 

Now  "  passes  an  interval  of  several  weeks,  in  which 
nothing  happen' d  worth  the  time  and  paper  it  wou'd 
take  to  write  it,"  until  October  I9th.  Then  comes  a 
stirring  and  exciting  day  crowded  with  events  for  Sally 
to  record.  In  the  morning  she  hears  "  the  greatest 
drumming,  fifing,  and  rattling  of  waggons  that  ever" 
was  heard,  and  goes  a  little  distance  to  see  the 
American  Army  as  it  marched  on  its  way  to  take  a 
position  nearer  to  the  city.  In  the  evening  comes  the 
gallant  General  Smallwood,  commander  of  the  Mary 
land  troops,  with  his  staff  and  a  large  guard  of  soldiers, 
to  take  up  his  headquarters  in  the  Foulke  house. 
"The  yard  and  house  were  in  confusion,  and  glitter' d 
with  military  equipments."  "  There  was  great  run 
ning  up  and  down  stairs,"  and  Sally  has  "an 
opportunity  of  seeing  and  being  seen,  the  former  the 
most  agreeable,  to  be  sure." 

On  this  nearer  view  of  the  military  she  becomes 
reconciled  to  them  and  feels  "in  good  spirits,  though 
surrounded  by  an  Army,  the  house  full  of  officers,  and 
the  yard  alive  with  soldiers,  —  very  peaceable  sort  of 
men,  tho'.'"  They  are  not  such  dreadful  creatures 
after  all.  "  They  eat  like  other  folks,  talk  like  them, 
and  behave  themselves  with  elegance  ;  so  I  will  not  be 
afraid  of  them,  that  I  won't."  With  these  observa- 


24  Journal   of  [imro- 

tions  she  goes  to  her  chamber  to  dream  "of  bayonets 
and  swords,  sashes,  guns,  and  epaulets." 

The  next  morning  Sally  was  up  early,  and  while 
"Somnus  embraces"  the  General  and  his  suite  she 
begins  those  piquant  and  graphic  pen-pictures  that  she 
has  left  of  them.  These  officers  were  of  the  best 
blood  of  the  South.  They  had  fought  in  all  the  prin 
cipal  battles  that  had  occurred  up  to  this  time,  and  the 
Maryland  officers  in  particular  had  become  famous  for 
their  courage  and  gallantry.  Sally  finds  them  well-bred 
and  amiable,  and  during  their  fortnight's  stay  in  the 
Foulke  house  takes  much  pleasure  in  their  society. 

She  proves  especially  susceptible  to  the  charms  of  a 
young  officer  of  near  her  own  age,  —  Major  William 
Truman  Stoddert,  nephew  of  the  General,  and  a 
descendant  of  one  of  the  best  and  oldest  families  on  the 
Western  Shore  of  Maryland.  On  the  first  evening  of 
the  arrival  of  the  party  he  particularly  attracted  her 
notice,  but  then  "  appear'  d  cross  and  reserv'd." 
She  adds,  however,  "  Thee  shall  see  how  agreeably 
disappointed  I  was."  On  the  morning  following  this 
first  acquaintance  she  thus  characterizes  him  : 

"  Well,  here  comes  the  glory,  the  Major,  so  bashful, 
"  so  famous,  &c.  He  shou'd  come  before  the  Captain, 
"  but  never  mind.  I  at  first  thought  the  Major  cross 


auction]         Sally   Wister  25 

"  and  proud,  but  I  was  mistaken.  He  is  about  nineteen, 
"  nephew  to  the  Gen'l,  and  acts  as  Major  of  brigade  to 
"  him  ;  he  cannot  be  extoll'd  for  the  graces  of  person, 
"  but  for  those  of  the  mind  he  may  justly  be  celebrated  ; 
"he  is  large  in  his  person,  manly,  and  [has]  an  engag- 
"  ing  countenance  and  address.'* 

On  the  third  day  the  Major  "is  very  reserv'd  ; 
nothing  but  '  Good  morning,'  or  '  Your  servant, 
madam.''  Sally  now  hears  "strange  things  of" 
him  ;  her  informant,  doubtless,  being  Captain 
Furnival,  of  Baltimore.  The  Major  is  "  worth  a 
fortune  of  thirty  thousand  pounds,  independent  of 
anybody"  ;  he  is,  moreover,  "very  bashful;  so 
much  so  he  can  hardly  look  at  the  ladies."  Then  she 
roguishly  remarks  in  an  aside,  "  Excuse  me,  good  sir  ; 
I  really  thought  you  were  not  clever  ;  if  'tis  bashful- 
ness  only,  we  will  drive  that  away." 

Several  days  now  pass  and  Sally  has  made  but  little 
progress  in  getting  acquainted  with  the  Major  ;  she 
makes  only  the  single  entry  :  "  The  Gen'l  still  here  ; 
the  Major  still  bashful."  Not  until  nearly  a  week 
after  the  arrival  of  the  Major  does  his  bashfulness 
finally  disappear,  and  then  it  was  her  little  brother 
Johnny,  —  scarcely  old  enough  yet  to  play  the  part  of 
the  enfant  terrible  —  who  broke  the  ice  between  them. 


26  Journal   ot  [intro- 

It  was  on  a  Sunday  evening.  The  Major  was  in 
the  Wisters'  parlor.  It  seems  he  had  lived  in  the  city 
for  a  time  just  before  the  war  as  a  student  in  Philadel 
phia  College,  now  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
In  the  course  of  the  conversation  he  asked  Mrs.  Wister 
if  she  knew  Miss  Nancy  Bond.  Sally  replied  for  her 
mother  that  the  "amiable  girl"  had  died  a  year 
previously.  Sally  then  notes  :  "I  was  diverting 
Johnny  at  the  table,  when  he  [the  Major]  drew  up 
his  chair  to  it  and  began  to  play  with  the  child.  I 
ask'd  him  if  he  knew  N.  Bond.  '  No,  ma* am,  but 
I  have  seen  her  often.'  One  word  brought  on 
another,  and  we  chatted  the  greatest  part  of  the  even 
ing.  He  said  he  knew  me  directly  he  saw  me. 
Told  me  exactly  where  we  liv'd." 

Thenceforth  the  Major  makes  himself  very  agree 
able.  Sally  now  receives  polite  "  Good  Mornings." 
He  "is  more  sociable  than  ever.  No  wonder;  a 
stoic  cou'd  not  resist  such  affable  damsels  as  we  are." 
She  finds  him  "very  clever,  amiable,  and  polite.  He 
has  the  softest  voice,  never  pronounces  the  R  at  all." 

She  is  very  much  vexed  when  the  "disagreeable" 
Dr.  Diggs  "  props  himself  between  the  Major  and 
me  "  at  the  tea-table  ;  so  that  "  after  I  had  drank  tea, 
I  jump' d  from  the  table  and  seated  myself  at  the  fire." 


Sally   Wister  27 

The  Major  <«  followed  my  example,  drew  his  chair 
close  to  mine,  and  entertain' d  me  very  agree 
ably."  "  No  harm,  I  assure  thee :  he  and  I  are 
friends." 

"  October  2ptb. — I  walk'd  into  aunt's  this  evening. 
"I  met  the  Major.  Well,  thee  will  think  I  am 
"  writing  his  history  ;  but  not  so.  Pleased  with  the 
"  rencounter,  Liddy,  Betsy,  Stodard,  and  myself, 
"  seated  by  the  fire,  chatted  away  an  hour  in  lively 
"  and  agreeable  conversation.  I  can't  pretend  to  write 
"all  he  said  ;  but  he  shone  in  every  subject  that  we 
"talk'dof." 

At  the  end  of  a  week  Sally's  sentiment  for  the 
Major,  as  she  informs  her  friend,  has  reached  the 
stage  of  "  esteem,"  but  we  strongly  suspect  that  not 
even  to  so  rare  a  confidante  as  Deborah  Norris  is  the 
whole  revealed.  "  Another  very  charming  conver 
sation  with  the  young  Mary  lander,"  she  writes. 
"He  seem'd  possessed  of  very  amiable  manners; 
sensible  and  agreeable.  He  has  by  his  unexceptionable 
deportment  engag'd  my  esteem." 

Early  in  November  the  General  receives  orders  to 
march,  and  the  time  of  parting  comes.  Sally  is  "  very 
sorry  ;  for  when  you  have  been  with  agreeable  people, 
'tis  impossible  not  to  feel  regret  when  they  bid  you 


28  Journal   of  [imro- 

adieu,     perhaps     forever."       Then    she     significantly 
remarks  :    "  The  Major  looks  dull." 

"About  two  o'clock  the  Gen.  and  Major  came  to 
"bid  us  adieu.  With  daddy  and  mammy  they  shook 
"hands  very  friendly  ;  to  us  they  bow'd  politely. 

"  Our  hearts  were  full.  I  thought  Major  was 
"affected. 

"  '  Good-bye,  Miss  Sally,'  spoken  very  low.  He 
"walk'd  hastily,  mounted  his  horse.  .  .  .  and 
"cantered  away.  .  .  .  We  look'd  at  him  till  the 
"  turn  in  the  road  hid  him  from  our  sight.  ...  I 
"wonder  whether  we  shall  ever  see  him  again." 

She  now  "skips"  a  few  weeks,  "nothing  of 
consequence  occurring  "  except  the  visit  of  two 
Virginians  who  disgust  her  with  their  conversation 
about  "  turkey  hash  and  fry'd  hominy  "  —  "  a  pretty 
discourse  to  entertain  the  ladies." 

On  the  5th  of  December  she  is  again  greatly 
alarmed  on  hearing  that  the  British  have  come  out 
from  the  city  to  attack  Washington  in  his  intrenchments 
at  Whitemarsh.  "  What  will  become  of  us  only  six 
miles  distant  ?  We  are  in  hourly  expectation  of  an 
engagement.  I  fear  we  shall  be  in  the  midst  of  it. 
Heaven  defend  us  from  so  dreadful  a  sight." 

On    the    evening    of  the    6th    she    is    filled    with 


auction]         Sally  Wister  29 

anxiety  to  see  Major  Stoddert  return  ill  with  fever, 
brought  on  by  exposure  to  cold  and  fatiguing  camp 
life.  He  is  no  longer  "  lively,  alert  and  blooming," 
but  "pale,  thin,  and  dejected,  too  weak  to  rise." 

He  soon  grows  better,  however,  and  he  and  Sally 
once  more  enjoy  each  other's  society.  She  now 
becomes  reconciled  to  the  "dreadful  situation"  and 
laughs  and  chats,  even  "tho'  two  such  large  armies  are 
within  six  miles  of  us."  On  the  afternoon  of  the 
seventh  "platoon  firing"  was  heard, and  the  Major,  in 
spite  of  his  weak  condition,  was  determined  to  return 
to  the  Army;  not  even  Sally's  gentle  pleading,  "  Oh  ! 
Major,  thee  is  not  going  "  — in  which  she  "  discovered 
a  strong  partiality  ' '  —  could  avail  ;  he  went  on  with 
his  preparations.  But  the  firing  soon  ceased,  "  and 
after  persuasions  innumerable  "  "he  reluctantly  agreed 
to  stay.  Ill  as  he  was,  he  would  have  gone.  It 
showed  his  bravery,  of  which  we  all  believe  him 
possess' d  of  a  large  share." 

In  the  course  of  a  few  days  two  new  figures  appear 
upon  the  scene,  one  of  whom  was  destined  to  be 
"a  principal  character"  in  the  liveliest  if  not  the  most 
dramatic  part  of  the  whole  narrative.  These  were 
two  young  Virginia  officers,  Captain  Lipscomb,  "a 
tall,  genteel  man,"  and  Mr.  Tilly,  "a  wild,  noisy 


30  Journal   of 

mortal,"  who  had  a  flute,  but  to  Sally's  vexation  did 
"nothing  but  play  the  fool." 

Sally,  however,  comes  to  think  Mr.  Tilly  very 
handsome  and  bids  her  heart  "be  secure."  But  this 
"caution  was  needless;  I  found  it  without  a  wish  to 


Of  the  episode  of  the  "British  Grenadier,"  of 
Stoddert's  and  Sally's  plot  to  frighten  the  "wild  and 
noisy  "  Tilly,  and  of  the  success  of  the  scheme  I 
shall  leave  Sally's  own  clever  pen  to  tell. 

On  December  I3th,  the  day  following  Tilly's 
"  retreat,"  Sally  writes  :  "  Ah,  Deborah,  the  Major  is 
going  to  leave  us  entirely  —  just  going.  I  will  see  him 
first."  Then  at  noon  :  "He  has  gone.  I  saw  him 
pass  the  bridge.  ...  I  seem  to  fancy  he  will  return 
in  the  eveng."  But  in  the  evening  he  does  "not 
come  back.  We  shall  not,  I  fancy,  see  him  again  for 
months,  perhaps  years,  unless  he  should  visit  Philada." 
She  then  concludes,  without  committing  herself 
further  :  "We  shall  miss  his  agreeable  company." 
A  week  later  when  the  other  officers  take  their  leave 
she  is  "  sorry  "  but  "'tis  a  different  kind  from  what  I 
felt  some  time  since.  We  had  not  contracted  so  great 
an  intimacy  with  those  last." 

Here  the  Major  takes  his  final  leave  ;  and  henceforth 


auction]         Sally   Wister  31 

he  figures  no  more  in  these  pages.  He  did  not  return 
to  the  Foulke  homestead,  nor  so  far  as  we  know  did 
he  ever  meet  Sally  again. 

But  little  penetration  is  needed  to  perceive  that  the 
fine  thread  of  a  love-story  runs  through  these  entries. 
It  must  be  an  unsympathetic  reader  who  can  dismiss 
the  whole  episode  as  a  mere  camp  flirtation.  Certainly, 
on  Sally's  part  at  least,  the  matter  had  gone  beyond  the 
stage  of  jesting.  As  for  the  Major,  although  we  only 
see  him  through  Sally's  eyes,  we  can  hardly  doubt  that 
the  old  Foulke  homestead  drew  him  back  to  its  shelter 
with  a  magnet  more  potent  than  military  reasons.  But 
that  the  course  of  true  love  was  checkered  or  obstructed 
would  seem  to  be  evident.  That  such  an  intimacy 
could  not  be  encouraged  is  not  to  be  wondered  at.  A 
wide  gulf  of  social  and  religious  prejudice  lay  between 
them.  He  was  a  Maryland  cavalier,  a  member  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  a  soldier,  rich  in  slaves  and 
plantation  lands.  She  was  a  Quaker  maiden,  a  member 
of  a  religious  body  that  held  war  to  be  unchristian,  and 
forbade  its  members  to  marry  out  of  the  Society  or  to 
hold  slaves. 

Howbeit,  when  in  the  course  of  years  the  Major 
took  unto  himself  a  wife,  the  lady  of  his  choice  also 
bore  the  name  of  Sally.  Whether  this  was  merely 


32  Journal   of 

chance,  or  whether  some  fleeting  memory  of  an  earlier 
time,  of  days  spent  in  pleasant  companionship  with  the 
Quaker  maiden  in  the  old  farmhouse  on  the  Wissa- 
hickon,  directed  his  fancy  and  influenced  his  choice, 
history  saith  not.  He  died  in  his  early  maturity  from 
the  lingering  effects  of  the  hardships  of  camp  life. 
Sally  Wister  died  unmarried  a  few  years  later. 


In  the  latter  part  of  February,  in  company  with  her 
friend  Polly  Fishbourne,  who  had  been  making  her  a 
visit  in  Gwynedd,  Sally  goes  down  to  Whitemarsh  to 
spend  a  week  with  Polly's  married  sister  Sarah,  wife  of 
George  Emlen,  with  whom  General  Washington  had 
made  his  headquarters  a  few  months  previously.  An 
incident  of  particular  interest  in  connection  with  this 
visit  is  her  ascent  of  the  "  barren  hills  of  White- 
marsh "  and  her  reference  to  the  "ragged  huts,  imita 
tions  of  chimneys,  and  many  other  ruinous  objects," 
remains  of  the  encampment  of  the  Army  that  she  found 
there. 

The  1st  of  March  finds  her  back  "at  my  old 
habitation  at  the  Mill,"  but  paper  being  scarce  "in 
this  part  of  the  country ' '  and  her  life  uneventful  she 
makes  no  further  entries  for  this  month. 


Sally   Wister  33 

With  the  advance  of  spring  * '  the  scene  begins  to 
brighten,"  and,  during  the  remainder  of  the  Journal,  to 
Sally's  delight  but  not  to  that  of  the  older  members  of 
the  family,  who  were  becoming  impatient  of  so  much 
"  quartering,"  a  number  of  officers  of  the  Continental 
Army  appear  at  the  Foulke  mansion.  Of  these  later 
comers  none  is  more  interesting  and  attractive  to  Sally 
than  the  gallant  and  picturesque  Captain  Dandridge, 
"  the  handsomest  man  in  existence."  There  is  no 
more  charming  bit  of  writing  in  the  Journal  than  the 
picture  she  gives  of  him,  and  their  passes  of  wit  and 
raillery.  Indeed,  we  fear  for  a  time  that  the  Major 
has  a  rival,  but  Sally  assures  us  she  escapes  heart  free. 

In  one  of  Sally's  encounters  with  Dandridge  an 
interesting  light  is  thrown  upon  the  attitude  of  the 
Wisters  in  the  struggle  for  independence.  As  members 
of  the  Society  of  Friends  they  professed  to  take  a 
neutral  position  and  stood  firmly  by  their  testimony 
against  war.  That  they  wished  to  avoid  the  discussion 
of  political  questions  is  shown  by  an  entry  of  Sally's, 
made  December  1 1  th.  She  relates  that  one  evening 
after  the  officers  had  taken  tea  in  the  Wister  parlor, 
"  the  conversation  turned  on  politicks,  a  subject  I 
avoid.  I  gave  Betsy  a  hint.  I  rose,  she  followed, 
and  we  went"  out  of  the  room. 


34  Journal   of 

But  although  opposed  to  war  the  Wisters,  like  fully 
ninety  per  cent,  of  the  Quakers,  were  at  heart  friends 
of  liberty  and  silent  sympathizers  with  their  country's 
cause.1  There  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  side  that  Sally 
takes.  All  through  the  Journal  she  reveals  her 
sympathy  for  the  Americans,  and  she  is  quick  to 
repudiate  Dandridge's  accusation  that  she  is  a  Tory. 

Finally,  on  the  1 9th  of  June  comes  the  welcome 
news  that  the  British  have  withdrawn  from  the 
city.  Sally  can  scarcely  contain  herself.  "  This  is 
charmante !  .  .  .  It  is  true.  They  have  gone. 
Past  a  doubt  .  .  .  may  they  never,  never  return." 
"I  now  think  of  nothing  but  returning  to  Philadel 
phia.'*  With  this,  on  the  2oth  of  June,  1778,  she 
brings  to  a  close  her  North  Wales  Journal. 

From  later  entries  made  in  the  back  part  of  the 
manuscript  book  containing  her  Journal  we  learn  that 
the  family  did  not  return  to  the  city  until  July.  Sally 
then  writes  : 

^Philadelphia,  July,  1778. — It  has  at  length 
"  pleased  the  Almighty  to  restore  us  to  our  friends  and 
"  native  city.  May  I  be  grateful  for  this  &  every  other 

1  See  Isaac  Sharpless'  work,  "  The  Quakers  in  the  Revolution," 
and  Gilbert  Cope's  paper  on  "  Friends  in  the  Revolution,"  read 
before  the  Chester  County  Historical  Society,  November,  1902. 


Sally   Wister  35 

"  blessing.  I  will  just  relate  a  few  circumstances  that 
"  occur'  d.  We  intended  removing  immediately  to 
"town  upon  my  father's  return  from  Lancaster, 
"  which  did  happen  the  third  day  after  the  evacuation 
"of  Philad,  but  our  intentions  were  frustrated  by  a 
"  severe  fit  of  illness,  which  my  sister  Betsy  had  ;  it 
"  held  her  two  weeks.  Thro'  the  goodness  of  provi- 
"  dence  she  was  again  restor'd  to  us.  We  then  bid 
"  adieu  to  the  peaceful  tho*  solitary  Shades  of 

"  N.  Wales,  which  for  the  space  of months 

"afforded  us  as  undisturb'd  a  retirement  as  the 
"  unhappy  situation  of  affairs  wou'd  admit.  Ardent 
"  as  my  desires  were  to  return  to  this  dear  city,  I  did 
"  not  leave  our  good  and  obliging  relations  and  quiet 
"retreat,  without  regret.  I  sigh'd,  and  the  starting 
"  tear  stood  trembling  in  my  eye.  A  tear  was  a  poor 
"tribute  to  the  many  happy  scenes  I  have  enjoy 'd 
"there;  yet  they  shall  ever  live  in  my  memory.  I 
"  will  fondly  cherish  the  idea  of  past  happiness  and 
"  shall  often  give  a  tear  and  [a]  sigh  to  the  remem- 
"brance  of  joyful  hours  beyond  recovery  fled. 

"  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  finding  my  frds  in  posses- 
"  sion  of  health  and  tolerable  spirits.  My  heart 
"danc'd  and  eyes  sparkled  at  the  sight  of  the 
"companions  of  my  girlish  days.  Add  to  this 
"the  rattling  of  carriages  over  the  streets  —  harsh 
"  music,  tho'  preferable  to  croaking  frogs  and  screech- 
"  ing  owls. 

"  I  don't  expect  anything  uncommon  will  mark  my 


36  Journal    of 

"  future  life,  therefore  shall  not  continue  this  relation 
"  journal-wise,  tho'  sometime  hence  I  may  add  a 
"  line  or  two." 

The  later  jottings,  which  were  made  at  long  intervals, 
are  not  of  sufficient  interest  to  print  in  full,  but  from 
them  we  find  that  for  a  number  of  years  she  was  kept 
informed  of  the  doings  of  some  of  her  soldier  friends. 

January  4,  1780,  she  has  heard  that  "Gen'l[s] 
Smallwood  and  Guest,  [and]  Col.  Wood  are  still  in 
the  Army,  Col.  Line  [is]  in  Virginia,  Capt  Furnival 
in  Maryland.  The  worthy  Stodard  is  much  indispos'd 
at  his  home  in  the  last  mention' d  state.  The  mild 
Capt  Smallwood  and  amiable  Lipscomb  are  no  longer 
inhabitants  of  this  terrestrial  world,  snatch' d  in  the 
bloom  of  youth  by  unrelenting  death  from  all  earthly 
connexions.  I  experienc'd  a  good  deal  of  pleasure  in 
the  transient  acquaintance  I  had  with  these  young  men  ; 
but  they  are  no  more.  I  felt  sorry  when  I  heard  of 
their  deaths." 

In  the  same  year  she  notes  :  "  Dandridge,  the  gay, 
the  gallant,  roving  Dandridge  is  at  last  bound  or  on 
the  verge  of  being  bound  in  hymen's  fetters.  I  hope 
the  lady  may  possess  prudence  and  discretion  .  .  .  . " 

A  little  later  she  hears  a  false  report  of  General 
Smallwood' s  death.  "  I  am  extremely  sorry  to  make 


Sally   Wister  37 

an  addition  to  my  journal  upon  an  occasion  so  affecting 
and  melancoly  as  the  present.  The  amiable,  worthy 
General  Smalhvood  in  full  possession  of  the  goods  of 
this  world  and  in  the  vigour  of  life  fell  in  the  battle 
with  Cornwallis,  August  i6th,  1780.  The  British 
soldiery,  with  savage  cruelty  not  contented  with  rob 
bing  the  agreeable  man  of  life  us'd  his  breathless  corse 
in  the  most  shocking  manner,  mangling  it  with  their 
bayonets.  What  a  disgrace  to  human  nature  was  such 
a  barbarous  procedure.  I  ardently  hope,  and  make  no 
doubt,  that  the  General,  whose  soul  I  am  confident 
was  a  stranger  to  such  vices,  is  enjoying  happiness 
inexpressible  in  the  mansions  of  eternal  felicity. 
Esteem' d  and  belov'd  by  all  that  knew  him  whilst 
living,  In  his  death  regretted  and  lamented  not  only 
as  a  loss  to  his  family  and  friends,  but  to  the  public. 
The  remembrance  of  his  virtues  and  the  happy  hours  I 
have  spent  in  his  company  shall  always  be  present  to 
my  mind.  The  following  lines  extremely  applicable  : 

Happy  The  brave  who  sink,  to  rest 
By  all  their  countrys  wishes  blest  j 
When  spring  with  dewy  fingers  cold, 
Returns  to  deck  their  hallow'd  mold, 
She  there  shall  dress  a  sweeter  sod  ; 
Than  FANCYS  feet  have  ever  trod, 
By  fairys  hands  their  knell  is  rung, 
By  forms  unseen  their  dirge  is  sung. 


38  Journal   of  [intro- 

There  HONOR  comes  a  PILGRIM  grey, 
To  bless  the  turf  that  wraps  their  clay, 
And  FREEDOM  shall  awhile  repair, 
To  dwell  a  weeping  HERMIT  there. 

May  all  those  brave  men  who  were  companions  in 
war  and  in  death  with  General  Smallwood  enjoy 
eternal  happyness." 

But  General  Smallwood  was  destined  for  a  milder 
death.  Sally  writes  : 

"  Sept.  I2tb,  1780.  — It  is  with  heartfelt  pleasure 
"I  have  heard  that  the  report  of  Genl  Smallwood' s 
"  death  was  premature.  He  was  not  only  favour' d  to- 
"survive  the  engagement,  but  by  signal  acts  of  bravery 
"has  gain'd  great  honor.  I  wish  the  laurels  he  has- 
"  gather' d  may  flourish  with  unfading  lustre." 

In  August,  1781,  she  makes  a  record  of  Dr. 
Gould's  death,  which  will  be  found  included  in  the 
footnote  on  page  77. 

We  catch  only  occasional  glimpses  of  Sally  Wister' s; 
later  life.  In  the  spring  of  1781  she  comes  before  us 
in  the  diary  of  her  friend,  Anna  Rawle,1  of  Phila 
delphia,  who  writes  : 

"April  i8tb9  1781,  4th- day. — Sally  Wister 
"and  Betsy  Wister  drank  tea  with  us." 

1  For  sketch  of  Anna  Rawle  see  page  205. 


auction]         Sally   Wister  39 

"  May  1 6th,  1781,  ^.th-day.  — Sally  Wister  came 
"this  evening  to  speak  to  Caty  Neal.  She  sat  an 
"hour  here  —  she  was  talking  of  the  ball  on  boara  the 
« '  french  frigate  —  of  the  ladies 
"  they  say  Nancy  Bingham  l  made 
"the  most  elegant  figure,  drest  in  a 
"suit  of  black  velvet  —  However, 
"as  there  must  be  censurers  it  was 
"thought  a  great  impropriety  for 
"her  to  go  into  so  much  company 
"  when  her  mother  has  been  dead 
"but  three  months  —  and  for  Mrs. 
«  P.  _  _  too,  as  she  has  within  ANNA 
"this  four  weeks  had  letters  to  inform  her  of  Charles 
"  Willings  death  in  Barbadoes  —  " 

Another  entry  from  the  same  diary  shows  that 
although  Sally  was  a  patriot  in  her  sympathies  yet  she 
was  enough  interested  in  relieving  distress  to  assist  in 
clothing  the  British  prisoners  : 

1  Under  date  of  Nov.  4,  1780,  Anna  Rawle  writes  of  Mrs.. 
Bingham  :  "  Speaking  of  handsome  women  brings  Nancy  Will 
ing  to  my  mind.  She  might  set  for  the  Queen  of  Beauty,  and  is 
lately  married  to  Bingham,  who  returned  from  the  West  Indies 
with  an  immense  fortune.  They  have  set  out  in  the  highest  style, 
nobody  here  will  be  able  to  make  the  figure  they  do  ;  equipage, . 
house,  cloathes,  are  all  the  newest  taste,  —  and  yet  some  people: 
wonder  at  the  match.  She  but  sixteen  and  such  a  perfect  form.. 
His  appearance  is  less  amiable." 


40  Journal   of 

"  4th- day,  Jan.  23,  1782. — B.  S.1  here  after 
"dinner  —  A  person  who  had  charitably  supplied  the 
"  British  prisoners  with  linnen  sent  some  of  it  here 
"  and  to  Aunt  Fishers  to  make  into  sheets  ;  it  was  the 
"  toughest  linnen  I  ever  worked  at  —  it  made  all  our 
"fingers  bleed — But  I  ought  not  .to  conceal  other 
*'  people's  charities  it  was  Sally  Wistar  who  gave  it  —  " 

In  1789,  after  the  death  of  his  father,  Daniel  Wister 
made  the  Germantown  house  his  permanent  residence, 
and  here  Sally  lived  the  remainder  of  her  life.  As  she 
grew  to  wo 
rn  a  n  h  o  o  d 
she  became 
sedate  and 

dignified,  but  letters  in  the  form  of  verse  written  to  her 
brothers  show  that  she  still  retained  much  of  her  former 
brightness  and  humor. 

She  was  fond  of  writing  poetry,  and  some  of  her 
productions,  written  over  the  nom-de-plume  of"  Laura," 
appeared  in  the  Philadelphia  Portfolio. 

In  her  later  life 
she  went  very  little 
into  society  and  her 
mind  was  much  occupied  with  religious  matters.  She 

1  Benjamin  Shoemaker,  Anna  Rawle's  stepbrother. 


Sally   Wister  41 

was  much  devoted  to  her  mother,  and  the  death  of  the 
latter  was  such  a  severe  blow  to  her  that  she  survived 
only  two  months,  dying  April  21,  iSc^.1 

The  celebrated  Dr.  Rush,  the  family  physician,  thus 
wrote  of  her  death  in  the  Philadelphia  Gazette,  of 
April  25,  1804  : 

"  Died  on  Wednesday  last,  Miss  Sarah  Wister. 
"The  distress  occasioned  by  the  death  of  this  highly 
"  accomplished  and  valuable  lady  is  greatly  heightened 
"by  recently  succeeding  that  of  her  excellent  mother. 

"  Few  families  have  ever  furnished  two  such  shining 
"examples  of  prudence,  virtue,  piety,  and  eminent 
"  acquirements  ;  and  as  few  persons  have  ever  produced 
"  by  their  deaths  more  heartfelt  grief  to  a  numerous 
"circle  of  relations  and  friends.'* 


The  original  manuscript,  from  which  the  Journal  is 
printed,   covers  forty  pages  of  linen  laid  paper  in  size 
six  inches  wide  by  seven  and  a  half  inches  long.      It  is  * 
bound  in  heavy  marbled  paper,  now  much  worn  with  . 
age,  and  except  for  the  first  page,  which  in  parts  is  * 
faded  and  time-stained,   the  writing  is  well  preserved.  % 
Considering    that    one    and    a  quarter    centuries   have  * 


lu  Memoir  of    Charles  J.    Wister,"    by   his  son,    Charles  J. 
Wister,  Jr.,  privately  printed,  Germantown,  1866. 


42  Journal     of  [Intro- 

elapsed  since  the  entries  were  made,  the  little  book  is 
in  very  good  condition.  The  handwriting,  as  may  be 
seen  by  the  photographic  reproductions,  is  legible  and 
characteristic.  The  Journal  is  now  for  the  first  time 
printed  in  its  entirety. 

The  errors  made  in  spelling  and  composition  may  be 
overlooked  in  a  girl  of  Sally's  age  ;  they  were  failings 
common  to  the  time  and  only  add  to  the  quaintness  of 
the  Journal.  On  the  whole  it  must  be  admitted  that  it 
is  a  remarkable  production  for  a  girl  of  sixteen. 

The  manuscript  is  now  in  possession  of  our  author's 
nephew,  Mr.  Charles  J.  Wister,  of  Germantown,  to 
whom  I  am  under  obligations  for  many  courtesies  ;  he 
has  not  only  given  me  access  to  the  Journal  and  other 
treasured  family  papers  and  relics,  but  has  in  every  way 
possible  furthered  my  undertaking.  He  has  examined 
the  proofs  of  the  work  and  approved  its  publication. 

I  also  desire  to  express  my  thanks  to  the  many  other 
persons  who  have  assisted  me  in  various  ways  ;  espe 
cially  would  I  mention  John  W.  Jordan,  Ph.D.,  and 
the  other  officials  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsyl 
vania  ;  the  Maryland  Historical  Society  and  its  cour 
teous  Librarian,  Mr.  George  W.  McCreary ;  the 
Episcopal  Library  of  Baltimore  ;  Mr.  Hugh  A. 
Morrison,  Jr. ,  of  the  Congressional  Library,  Washing- 


•f. 

CC     :?. 


I     1 


3     _ 


auction]         Sally   Wister  43 

ton,  D.  C.  ;  Mr.  Thomas  E.  Nimmo,  of  the  State 
Library,  Richmond,  Virginia  ;  the  New  York  His 
torical  Society  and  its  Librarian,  Mr.  Robert  H. 
Kelby  ;  Mr.  Albert  C.  Bates,  Librarian  of  the  Con 
necticut  Historical  Society,  Hartford  ;  Mr.  Bunford 
Samuels,  of  the  Ridgway  Branch  of  the  Philadelphia 
Library  Company  ;  Miss  Cordelia  Jackson,  of  George 
town,  D.  C.  ;  Mr.  Gustavus  Truman  Brown  and 
Mrs.  Vernon  Dorsey,  of  Washington,  D.  C.  ;  Mr. 
Kirk  Brown,  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Stoddert  Bowie,  of 
Baltimore  ;  Mr.  Emerson  Collins,  of  Williamsport,  Pa. ; 
the  Virginia  Historical  Society,  Richmond  ;  and  Mr. 
Nathan  F.  Carter,  Librarian  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Historical  Society,  Concord. 

My  thanks  are  also  due  to  Hon.  Samuel  W. 
Pennypacker,  Mr.  Henry  Pemberton,  Mr.  William 
Brooke  Rawle,  Mr.  Francis  Rawle,  Hon.  Boies 
Penrose,  Miss  Anne  Hollingsworth  Wharton,  Mr. 
Samuel  Troth,  Mrs.  John  T.  Lewis,  and  Mr.  Thomas 
D.  Bolger,  of  Philadelphia  ;  to  Mr.  Albanus  C. 
Logan,  Miss  Maria  Dickinson  Logan,  Mr.  James 
Emlen,  and  Miss  Sarah  M.  Whitesides,  of  German- 
town  ;  to  Mrs.  William  Truman  Stoddert,  of 
Winchester,  Virginia  ;  to  Mr.  William  H.  Richardson, 
of  Jersey  City,  N.  J.  ;  to  Mr.  W.  Gordon  Smythe, 


44  Journal  [Introduction 

of  West  Conshohocken,  Pa.  ;  to  Mr.  Gilbert  Cope, 
of  West  Chester,  Pa.  ;  to  Mrs.  Priscilla  Walker 
Streets,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  ;  to  Mr.  Walter  J. 
Mitchell,  of  La  Plata,  Charles  County,  Md.  ;  to 
Mr.  F.  Potts  Green,  of  Bellefonte,  Pa.  ;  to  Miss 
Susan  Miles,  of  Milesburg,  Pa.  ;  and  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  J.  Albert  Caldwell,  the  present  occupants  of  the 
Foulke  Mansion  at  Penllyn,  Pa. 

I  have  indicated  my  principal  sources  of  information 
in  the  footnotes,  but  I  am  especially  indebted  for  con 
siderable  data  to  Howard  M.  Jenkins's  excellent  work, 
"Historical  Collections  of  Gwynedd,"  and  to  Francis 
B.  Heitman's  "  Historical  Register  of  the  Revolu 
tion.  " 

ALBERT  COOK  MYERS. 

Philadelphia,  December  isy  1902. 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION 5 

LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 49 

SALLY  WISTER'S  JOURNAL 65 

APPENDIX 187 

LETTERS  TO  SALLY  WISTER  : 

From   Deborah  Norris. — 1 189 

From  Deborah  Norris.— II 194 

From  Deborah  Norris.— Ill I98 

From  Peggy  Rawle.— 1 2O2 

From   Peggy  Rawle. — II 204 

From   Polly  Fishbourne 2°7 

INVENTORY   OF    THE   PERSONAL  ESTATE  OF  WILLIAM 

FOULKE        210 

INDEX  217 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

"THE  BRITISH  GRENADIER'*       ....  Frontispiece 

Reproduced  by  the  three-color  process  from  the  original 
figure,  life-size,  painted  on  wood  one  inch  thick,  in 
possession  of  Charles  J.  Wister,  Esq.,  of  Germantown. 
Sally  Wister  notes  under  date  of  December  12,  1777, 
that  the  figure  had  been  brought  to  the  Foulke  house, 
"some  weeks"  before  from  the  house  of  her  uncle, 
Colonel  Samuel  Miles,  a  few  miles  away.  Its  origin  is 
unknown,  but  it  has  been  suggested  that  it  was  one  of 
the  stage  decorations  made  by  Major  Andre  for  use  in 
connection  with  the  British  theatricals  during  the 
British  occupation  of  Philadelphia.  I  am  informed  by 
the  British  War  Office,  in  a  letter  dated  November  7, 
1902,  that  it  "is  a  faithful  representation  of  a  Cold- 
stream  Guardsman  about  the  period  1745." 

HEADING.  — ANTIQUE  LOCK  AND  CHAIR    ...        5 

From  Wister  Mansion,  Germantown. 

DEBORAH  LOGAN   ("Debby  Norris")       ...       7 
From  photograph  of  portrait ,  painted  by  George  W. 
Conarroe,    in    1839,    in   possession    of  a    descendant, 
Miss  Maria  Dickinson  Logan,  of  "  Loudoun,"  Ger 
mantown. 


50  Journal   of  [iiiw- 

WISTER  MANSION,  GERMANTOWN 10 

From  a  Photograph,  taken  October,  1902. 

MRS.  WILLIAM   RAWLE  ("Sally  Burge")       .    .      14 

From  a  panel  portrait  by  Gilbert  Stuart,  owned  by 
a  descendant,  Francis  Rawle,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia. 
Painted  on  mahogany,  24  by  29  inches.  White  dress, 
with  dark  green  cloak  falling  from  the  shoulders  ;  white 
muslin  cap  ;  hair  brown  ;  eyes  blue  j  red  curtain  at 
open  window  in  left  background. 

THE  FOULKE  MANSION  AT  PENLLYN 19 

The  central  part  of  the  house  only  was  standing  in 
1777-1778;  the  end  wings  are  of  later  erection. 
The  Journalist  says  :  "  The  house  has  four  rooms  on  a 
floor,  with  a  wide  entry  running  through." 

ANNA  RAWLE   (Mrs.  John  Clifford) 39 

From  silhouette  in  possession  of  a  descendant,  Henry 
Pemberton,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia. 

AUTOGRAPH  OF  DANIEL  WISTER 40 

AUTOGRAPH  OF  LOWRY  WISTER 40 

WISTER  MANSION,   GERMANTOWN 40 

From  an  old  Drawing. 

SITTING-ROOM,  WISTER  MANSION,  GERMANTOWN  .     42 
From  a  Photograph,  taken  October,  1902. 


trations]  Sally     WlstCF  51 

HALF-TITLE.  —  DOOR  LATCH 45 

From  Wister  Mansion,  Germantown. 

HEADING.  —  ANTIQUE    LAMP    AND    CANDLESTICKS  49 

From  Wister  Alansion,  Germantown. 

HEADING 65 

SALLY  WISTER 65 

From  silhouette  in  possession  of  her  nephew,  Charles 
J.  Wister,  Esq.,  of  Germantown. 

AUTOGRAPH  OF  DR.    ENOCH   EDWARDS    ....     69 

From  signature  to  his  will  dated  December  31,  1 80 1, 
Philadelphia  Wills,  No.  60. 

THE  OLD  FOULKE  MILL  AT  PENLLYN    ....     69 

Taken  down  in  January,  1896.  From  photograph 
made  by  Mr.  William  H.  Richardson,  of  Jersey  City, 
New  Jersey. 

AUTOGRAPH  OF  WILLIAM  LINDSAY 71 

From  signature  to  a  letter  (from  Collector's  Office  at 
Norfolk),  dated  March  2,9,  1794,  to  Governor  Henry 
Lee,  of  Virginia,  MS.  in  State  Library,  Richmond. 

AUTOGRAPH  OF  GEORGE  EMLEN 75 

From  signature  to  a  manuscript  in  the  collection  of  the 
Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 


52  Journal   of  piius- 


AUTOGRAPH    OF  GENERAL  WlLLIAM   SMALLWOOD     .       78 

From  signature  to  a  letter  dated  Woodyard,  February 

14,  1776,  addressed  to  the  President  of  the  Council  of 
Safety  in  Annapolis,  MS.  No.  192,  in  Red  Book  No. 

15,  Maryland  Historical  Society. 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  CAPTAIN  EBENEZER  FINLEY    .    .     80 

From  signature  in  Revolutionary  War  Records,  War 
Department,  Washington,  D.  C. 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  HORATIO  CLAGGETT 80 

From  signature  in  Revolutionary  War  Records,  War 
Department,  Washington,  D.  C. 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  COLONEL  JAMES  WOOD  ....     82, 

From  signature  as  Governor  of  Virginia  attached  to  a 
Commission,  dated  April  22,  1794,  MSS.  E.  F.  No. 
53,  Virginia  Historical  Society,  Richmond. 


GENERAL  WILLIAM  SMALLWOOD       82 

From  photograph  of  portrait  painted  by  Charles  Willson 
Peale,  in  Independence  Hall,  Philadelphia. 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  CAPTAIN  ALEXANDER  FURNIVAL    .     84 

From  signature  to  a  letter  dated  at  Baltimore,  November 
26,  1777,  MS.  No.  40,  in  Red  Book  No.  14, 
Maryland  Historical  Socierv,  Baltimore. 


trations]  Sally     WlstCF  53 

MAJOR  WILLIAM  TRUMAN  STODDERT      ....     84 

From  a  miniature  in  possession  of  a  great-great-grand 
daughter,  Miss  Bessie  Stoddert  Hopkins,  of  "  Snowden 
Hall,"  Bowie,  Prince  George  County,  Maryland.  Size 
of  portrait  I  %  x  1 1^  inches.  Set  in  a  gold  frame.  The 
hat  with  its  plume  is  black,  the  hair  powdered  gray, 
the  eyes  blue,  the  coat  dark  blue,  lapel  and  shoulder 
straps  bright  red,  with  neckcloth  white.  On  the 
reverse  side,  covered  with  glass,  is  a  mass  of  woven  hair  of 
light  brown  color,  upon  which  is  placed  the  gold  mono 
gram,  W  T  S. 

"THE  MAJOR" 86 

Photographic  reproduction  of  two  pages  of  the  original 
manuscript  of  the  Journal. 

THE  HUNTING  HORN  OF  MAJOR  STODDERT  .    .     88 

Photographed  from  the  original,  in  the  possession  of  his 
great-grandson,  Mr.  Gustavus  Truman  Brown,  of 
Washington,  D.  C. 

AUTOGRAPH  OF  JOHN  WISTER,    1830      ....     90 

From  a  fly  leaf  of  a  volume  in  a  set  of  Shakespeare  in 
possession  of  his  nephew,  Charles  J.  Wister,  Esquire, 
of  Germantown. 

AUTOGRAPH  OF  COLONEL  MORDECAI  GIST      .    .     92 

From  signature  to  a  letter  dated  "  Camp,"  October 
17,  1781,  to  General  Washington,  Conarroe  Collection, 
Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 

AUTOGRAPH  OF  COLE  DIGGS 93 

From  a  signature  in  Revolutionary  War  Records,  War 
Department,  Washington,  D.  C. 


54  Journal   of  [iiius- 


COLONEL    MORDECAI    GlST 95 

From  photograph  of  portrait  painted  by  Charles  Willson 
Peale,  in  collection  of  Maryland  Historical  Society, 
Baltimore.  Eyes,  blue  gray  ;  hair,  very  light  brown  ; 
coat,  dark  blue  ;  lapel  and  vest,  buffj  rosette  on  hat, 
gold. 


"THE  PARLOUR"  AND  OLD  FIREPLACES,  FOULKE 

MANSION 96 

From  a  Photograph,  taken  October,  1902. 

NORTH   CHAMBER,  WITH  OLD  FIREPLACE,  FOULKE 

MANSION 98 

From  a  Photograph,  taken  October,  1902. 


THE     WISSAHICKON,     NEAR     FOULKE     MANSION, 

PENLLYN loo 

From  a  Photograph,  taken  October,  1902. 


COLONEL  SAMUEL  MILES 


From  portrait,  said  to  be  by  Peale,  in  possession  of  a 
descendant,  Miss  Susan  Miles,  of  Milesburg,  Centre 
County,  Pennsylvania.  Size  of  portrait  24  x  28  inches. 
Eyes  and  hair  gray.  Coat  black.  A  portrait  exactly 
like  this  has  come  down  to  another  descendant,  Miss 
Frances  M.  McKean,  of  Washington,  D.  C. 


Sally   Wister  55 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  COLONEL  SAMUEL  MILES    .    .    .104 

From  signature  to  a  letter  dated  August  28,  1777,  at 
Spring  Mill  Farm,  addressed  to  Elias  Boudinot,  Com 
missary  General.  In  Autograph  Collection  of  His 
torical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  POLLY  FISHBOURNE 105 

From  signature  to  a  letter  written  from  Potsgrove,  now 
Pottstown,  Pa.,  in  1776,  to  "Sally  Wister  Phila 
delphia,"  in  collection  of  Mr.  Charles  J.  Wister. 


THE  DINING-ROOM,  FOULKE  MANSION,  PENLLYN  .112 

From  a  Photograph,  taken  October,  1902. 

AUTOGRAPH  OF  DEBORAH  NORRIS  .  .  HA 


From  signature  to  a  letter  dated  January  27,  1777, 
addressed  "  ffbr  Sally  Wister  jgj  North  Wales,"  in 
collection  of  Mr.  Charles  J.  Wister. 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  CAPTAIN  REUBEN  LIPSCOMB    .    .121 

From  signature  in  Revolutionary  War  Records,   War 
Department,  Washington,  D.  C. 


THE    "  OTHER   FIGURE" 127 

Photographed  from  the  original  figure,  life  size,  painted 
on  wood,  one  inch  thick,  in  possession  of  Charles  J. 
Wister,  Esq.,  of  Germantown. 


56  Journal   of  piius- 

"  THE  ENTRY"  AND  "THE  FIRST  LANDING  OF 

THE  STAIRS/'    FOULKE  MANSION     .    .    .128 
From  a  Photograph,  taken  October,  1902. 

"  TILLY  AND  THE  BRITISH  GRENADIER"    .    .    .136 

Photographic  reproduction  of  four  pages  of  the  original 
manuscript  of  the  Journal. 

EMLEN    HOUSE,    "  WHITEMARSH,"    NOW    CAMP 

HILL       139 

Montgomery  County,  Pennsylvania.  Washington's 
Headquarters,  December,  1777.  From  photograph 
made  by  Mr.  William  H.  Richardson,  of  Jersey  City, 
New  Jersey. 

EMLEN  HOUSE  IN   1848 140 

From  a  sketch  made  by  Benson  J.  Lossing  in  1848, 
and  reproduced  in  his  "  Field-Book  of  the  Revolution." 

SARAH  EMLEN   (1756—1829),  WIFE  OF  GEORGE 

EMLEN 142 

From  a  miniature  in  possession  of  a  granddaughter, 
Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Meredith,  of  New  York  City.  Size, 
Z^X3/^  inches.  Colors — eyes,  dark  grey;  hair, 
almost  white  ;  gown,  grey  j  shawl,  kerchief,  and  cap, 
white. 

AUTOGRAPH  OF  MAJOR  JOHN  JAMESON    .     .    .    .143 

From  signature  to  a  letter,  dated  Culpepper,  January  8, 
1794,  to  Governor  Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  MSS.  of 
the  Revolution,  State  Library,  Richmond. 


Sally  Wister  57 


VIEW  FROM    "  THE    BARREN   HILLS    OF  WHITE- 

MARSH,"  NOW  CAMP  HILL      .....  144 

From  a  Photograph,  taken  October,  1901. 


OLD  MANTEL   AND   FIREBOARD,   EMLEN  HOUSE  .  146 

From  a  Photograph,  taken  October,  1902. 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  DR.    CHARLES   MOORE    .    .    .     .146 

From  signature  to  a  letter,  dated  Montgomery,  Febru 
ary  22,  1796,  to  Robert  Proud,  in  regard  to  the  publi 
cation  of  the  latter's  "History  of  Pennsylvania," 
Dreer  Collection,  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  GENERAL  WILLIAM   MAXWELL    .  147 

From  signature  to  a  letter,  dated  Westfield,  January  20, 
1777,  to  Mr.  Ervine,  Commissary-General  at  Mor- 
ristown,  Autograph  Collection,  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania. 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  COLONEL  DANIEL  BRODHEAD   .  148 

From  signature  to  a  letter,  dated  Sommerset,  April  24, 
1777,  to  General  Lincoln,  Dreer  Collection,  Historical 
Society  of  Pennsylvania. 


58  Journal   of  piius- 


COLONEL  DANIEL   BRODHEAD 148 

From  photograph  of  a  miniature  in  possession  of  Mrs. 
Johnson,  of  Williamsport,  Pennsylvania,  widow  of  the 
late  Henry  Johnson,  Esq.,  of  Muncy,  Pa.,  to  whom  it 
descended  through  his  mother,  Mrs.  Rebecca  J. 
Johnson,  granddaughter  of  General  Brodhead.  In  his 
will,  dated  August  8,  1809,  probated  in  Wayne 
County,  Pennsylvania,  November  25,  1809,  General 
Brodhead  thus  disposed  of  his  portraits  :  "I  give  to  my 
Granddaughter  Rebecca  Johnson  (late  Rebecca  Heiner) 
my  miniature  picture  set  in  gold  ' '  and  ' '  to  my  Grand 
daughter  Catharine  Brodhead  my  small  portrait  picture." 
The  miniature,  in  size  I  $  x  1%  inches,  is  painted  on 
ivory  and  set  in  a  gold  frame.  The  eyes  are  blue,  and 
the  hair  white.  The  uniform  is  blue  with  scarlet 
facings.  The  waistcoat  and  stock  are  white. 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  MAJOR  AARON  OGDEN  .    .     .    .149 

From  signature  to  a  letter  dated  Jersey  City,  March  28, 
1834,  Dreer  Collection,  Historical  Society  of  Penn 
sylvania. 


MAJOR  AARON  OGDEN 150 

From  original  portrait  painted  by  Asher  B.  Durand,  in 
collection  of  New  York  Historical  Society. 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  CAPTAIN  CADWALLADER  JONES    .150 

From  signature  in  manuscripts  of  the  Revolution,  State 
Library,  Richmond,  Virginia. 


Sally   Wister  59 


AUTOGRAPH   OF  CAPTAIN  AMOS   EMERSON  .    .    .152 

From    signature  to     a     manuscript    in    State    Library, 
Concord,  New  Hampshire. 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  CAPTAIN  JOHN  WATTS  .    .     .    .154 

From  signature  in  Revolutionary  War  Records,  War 
Department,  Washington,  D.  C. 


CAPTAIN  DANDRIDGE  " 156 

Photographic   reproduction  of  a  page  of   the  original 
manuscript  of  the  Journal. 


AUTOGRAPH      OF     CAPTAIN     ALEXANDER     SPOTS- 
WOOD  DANDRIDGE 156 

From  signature  to  his  will,  dated  March  4,  1784, 
probated  May  17,  1785,  in  Register  Office,  Martins- 
burgh,  Berkeley  County,  West  Virginia. 


SALLY  WISTER'S   SAMPLER 159 

Reproduced  by  the  three-color  process  from  the  original, 
in  possession  of  her  nephew,  Charles  J.  Wister,  Esq., 
of  Germantown. 


60  Journal   of  piius- 

AUTOGRAPH    OF    CAPTAIN    JOHN    SWAN       .      .      .      .    1 66 

From  signature  in  Revolutionary  War  Records,  War 
Department,  Washington,  D.  C. 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  CAPTAIN  ANDREW  NIXON      .    .174 

From  signature  in  Revolutionary  War  Records,  War 
Department,  Washington,  D.  C. 


AUTOGRAPH   OF  GENERAL  JOHN   LACEY  .    .    .     .  181 

From  signature  to  a  letter  dated  Doylestown,  March  21, 
1778,  to  Thomas  Wharton,  Dreer  Collection,  His 
torical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 


THE  END" 185 

Photographic   reproduction   of  a  page  of   the  original 
manuscript  of  the  Journal. 


HEADING  —  ANTIQUE  CHAIRS 189 

From  Wister  Mansion,  Germantown.  The  central 
chair  was  presented  to  John  Wister,  Sally  Wister' s 
grandfather,  by  his  friend,  Count  Zinzendorf,  the  cele 
brated  Moravian  missionary,  about  1740. 


trations]  Sally     WistCF  6 1 


MARGARET  RAWLE   (Mrs.  Isaac  Wharton)      .    .192 

From  photograph  of  portrait  painted  by  Thomas  Sully, 
in  possession  of  Mrs.  William  H.  Gaw,  of  Philadelphia. 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  PEGGY  RAWLE 192 

From  signature  to  a  letter,  dated  September  7,  1776, 
addressed  "  To  Sally  Wister  in  Germantown,"  in 
collection  of  Mr.  Charles  J.  Wister. 


Sallg  TOiSter's  Sournal 


Sally  Wister 


To  DEBORAH  NoRRis1: — 

Tho'  I  have  not  the  least  shadow  of  an 
opportunity  to  send  a  letter,  if  I  do  write, 
I  will  keep  a  sort  of  journal  of  the  time 
that  may  expire  before  I  see  thee  :  the 
perusal  of  it  may  some  time  hence  give 
pleasure  in  a  solitary  hour  to  thee  and  our 
Sally  Jones.2 

Yesterday,  which  was  the  24th  of  Sep 
tember,  two  Virginia  officers  call'd  at  our 
house,  and  inform'd  us  that  the  British 
Army  had  cross'd  the  Schuylkill.  Pres 
ently  after,  another  person  stopped,  and 

1  For  sketch  of  Deborah  Norris  see  p.  114. 

2  Doubtless   this   was    Sally   Wister's  aunt,   Sarah   Jones,   born 
May   30,    1760,  who  married    Samuel   Rutter.      The    aunt   was 
only  one  year  older  than  the  niece. 


66  Journal   of        [Sept.  25 

confirm'd  what  they  had  said,  and  that 
Gen'l  Washington  and  Army  were  near 
Pottsgrove.1  Well,  thee  may  be  sure  we 
were  sufficiently  scared ;  however,  the 
road  was  very  still  till  evening. 

About  seven  o'clock  we  heard  a  great 
noise.  To  the  door  we  all  went.  A  large 
number  of  waggons,  with  about  three  hun 
dred  of  the  Philadelphia  Militia.  They 
begged  for  drink,  and  several  push'd 
into  the  house.  One  of  those  that 
entered  was  a  little  tipsy,  and  had  a 
mind  to  be  saucy. 

I  then  thought  it  time  for  me  to  retreat ; 
so  figure  me  (mightily  scar'd,  as  not  having 
presence  of  mind  enough  to  face  so  many 
of  the  Military),  running  in  at  one  door, 
and  out  another,  all  in  a  shake  with  fear ; 
but  after  a  while,  seeing  the  officers  appear 

aThe  Battle  of  Brandywine  had  occurred  September  nth,  and 
the  surprise  and  massacre  at  Paoli  on  the  night  of  the  zoth. 
Howe  crossed  at  Gordon's  Ford  (now  Phoenixville),  and  Fatland 
Ford,  on  September  23d,  to  the  east  side  of  the  Schuylkill,  and 
thence  moved  down  to  Philadelphia.  Washington  was  at  Potts- 
grove  for  several  days,  and  then  moved  over  to  the  Perkiomen. 
— H.  M.  Jenkins. 


1777]  Sally   Wister  67 

gentlemanly,  and  the  soldiers  civil,  I  call'd 
reason  to  my  aid.  My  fears  were  in  some 
measure  dispell'd,  tho*  my  teeth  rattled, 
and  my  hand  shook  like  an  aspen  leaf. 
They  did  not  offer  to  take  their  quarters 
with  us  ;  so,  with  many  blessings,  and  as 
many  adieus,  they  marched  off. 

I  have  given  thee  the  most  material 
occurrences  of  yesterday  faithfully. 

Fourth  Day,   September  2^th.1 

This  day,  till  twelve  o'clock,  the  road 
was  mighty  quiet,  when  Hobson  Jones 
came  riding  along.  About  that  time  he 
made  a  stop  at  our  door,  and  said  the 
British  were  at  Skippack  road ;  that  we 
should  soon  see  their  light  horse,  and 
[that]  a  party  of  Hessians  had  actually 
turn'd  into  our  lane.  My  Dadda  and 
Mamma  gave  it  the  credit  it  deserv'd, 

1  This  date,  presuming  the  day  of  the  week  to  be  accurately 
given,  should  be  the  24th,  and  it  may  be  here  observed  that  the 
dates  of  the  month  are  not  for  some  time  correctly  given  in  the 
Journal,  being  a  while  one  day  ahead,  and  then  two  days,  until 
December  5th,  when  they  become  correct. — H.  M.  J. 


68  Journal   of        [Sept.  25 

for  he  does  not  keep  strictly  to  the 
truth  in  all  respects ;  but  the  delicate, 
chicken-hearted  Liddy1  and  I  were  wretch 
edly  scar'd.  We  cou'd  say  nothing  but 
"Oh!  what  shall  we  do?  What  will 
become  of  us  ?  "  These  questions  only 
augmented  the  terror  we  were  in. 

Well,  the  fright  went  off.  We  saw  no 
light  horse  or  Hessians.  O.  Foulke2 
came  here  in  the  evening,  and  told  us 
that  Gen'l  Washington  had  come  down 
as  far  as  the  Trappe,  and  that  Gen'l 
McDougle's  brigade  was  stationed  at 
Montgomery,  consisting  of  about  16 
hundred  men.  This  he  had  from  Dr. 
Edwards,3  Lord  Stirling's  aid-de-camp ; 

1  LYDIA   FOULKE,  daughter  of  William  and  Hannah,  born  April 
9,  1756.      She  afterward    married  John  Spencer,  born  1756,  died 
1799,  son  of  Jacob  and  Hannah,  of  Moreland. — H.  M.  J. 

2  OWEN  FOULKE,  son  of  Caleb  and  Jane   (Jones)  Foulke,  was 
born  in   Philadelphia,  June  27th,  1763,  died  at  Gwynedd,  August 
30,     1808.      He    was    afterwards    a    partner    with    his    father   in 
business  in   Philadelphia,  and  in  1798  was  a  member  of  the  First 
City  Troop.      In  the    late    years  of  his    life  he  practiced  law  at 
Sunbury,    Pa.      He  was   Sally's  first   cousin,   their  mothers  being 
sisters.— H.  M.  J. 

3  DR.  ENOCH   EDWARDS,   brother  of   Major  Evan  Edwards,   was 


p 


>O        S 
OS 

"0 


1777]  Sally   Wister  69 

so  we    expected    to    be    in    the    midst  of 
one  army  or  t'other. 

Fourth  Day  Night. 
We  were  not  alarm'd. 

Fifth  Day,   September  26th. 

We  were  unusually  silent  all  the  morn 
ing  ;  no  passengers  came  by  the  house, 
except  to  the  Mill,  &  we  don't  place 
much  dependence  on  Mill  news. 

About  twelve  o'clock,  cousin  Jesse1 
heard  that  Gen.  Howe's  army  had  moved 


born   in   Byberry,  Philadelphia  County,  in   1750.      He  became  an 
Ensign  of  the   Pennsylvania  Flying  Camp,  in   1776.      He  was  a 

Justice  of  the  Peace  and 
a  practicing  physician  in 
Byberry  until  1 792,,  when 
he  sold  his  property  there 
/  and  moved  to  Frankford. 

In  1791  he  was  commissioned  an  Associate  Judge  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  of  Philadelphia.  He  died  April  25,  1802. — 
"  Penna.  in  Rev.,"  III.,  5585  Phila.  Amer.  Daily  Ad.,  Apr. 
27,  1802 ;  "Hist.  Moreland";  Martin's  "Bench  and  Bar." 
1  JESSE  FOULKE,  son  of  William  and  Hannah,  and  brother  to 
Caleb  and  Amos.  He  was  therefore  a  "  connection  by  marriage," 
but  not  of  kin,  at  all;  the  term  "cousin"  is  purely  compli 
mentary.  He  was  born  Nov.  9,  1742,  and  died  unmarried, 


70  Journal   of        [Sept.  26 

down  towards  Philadelphia.  Then,  my 
dear,  our  hopes  &  fears  were  engaged  for 
you.  However,  my  advice  is,  summon 
up  all  your  resolution,  call  Fortitude  to 
your  aid,  and  don't  suffer  your  spirits  to 
sink,  my  dear  ;  there's  nothing  like 
courage ;  'tis  what  I  stand  in  need  of 
myself,  but  unfortunately  have  little  of 
it  in  my  composition. 

I  was  standing  in  the  kitchen1  about 
12,  when  somebody  came  to  me  in  a 
hurry,  screaming,  "  Sally,  Sally,  here  are 
the  light  horse  !  "  This  was  by  far  the 
greatest  fright  I  had  endured  ;  fear  tack'd 
wings  to  my  feet ;  I  was  at  the  house 
in  a  moment ;  at  the  porch  I  stopt,  and 
it  really  was  the  light  horse. 

I  ran  immediately  to  the  western  door, 
where  the  family  were  assembled,  anxiously 
waiting  for  the  event.  They  rode  up  to 

March  1 6,  1821.  He  and  his  unmarried  sister  Priscilla  con 
tinued  to  occupy  the  old  Foulke  mansion,  and  lived  to  advanced 
years.  — H.  M.  J. 

1  The  kitchen  was   "a  small  distance  from  the  house."      See 
infra,    under  date  of  June  5,  1778. 


Sally  Wister  71 

the  door  and  halted,  and  enquired  if  we 
had  horses  to  sell ;  he  was  answer'd 
negatively. 

"  Have  not  you,  sir,"  to  my  father, 
"  two  black  horses  ?  " 

"  Yes,  but  have  no  mind  to  dispose 
of  them." 

My  terror  had  by  this  time  nearly  sub 
sided.  The  officer  and  men  behav'd 
perfectly  civil ;  the  first  drank  two  glasses 
of  wine,  rode  away,  bidding  his  men 
follow,  which,  after  adieus  in  number,  they 
did.  The  officer  was  Lieutenant  Lindsay,1 
of  Eland's  regiment,  Lee's  troop.  The 
men,  to  our  great  joy,  were  Americans, 

1  WILLIAM  LINDSAY,  whose  father,  William  Lindsay,  had  come 
from  Jamaica  and  settled  at  Port  Royal,  Caroline  County, 
Virginia,  was  appointed  a  Cornet  in  Colonel  Eland's  Regiment  of 

Virginia  Light  Dragoons,  June 

i6>  i?j6'  °n  the  i8th  °f 

December  of  the  same  rear 

he  was  raised  to  the  rank  of 
Lieutenant.  March  15,  1777,  he  became  Third  Lieutenant  of  the 
First  Continental  Dragoons.  He  received  a  wound  near  Valley 
Forge,  January  21,  1778.  On  the  7th  of  April  following  he 
was  made  Captain  of  Lee's  Battalion  of  Light  Dragoons.  He 
resigned  from  the  Army,  October  i,  1778.  He  lived  fora  time; 


72  Journal   of         [Sept.  26 

and  but  4  in  all.  What  made  us  imagine 
them  British,  they  wore  blue  and  red, 
which  with  us  is  not  common. 

It  has  rained  all  this  afternoon,  and  to 
present  appearances,  will  all  night.  In 
all  probability  the  English  will  take  pos 
session  of  the  city  to-morrow  or  next 
day.  What  a  change  will  it  be  !  May 
the  Almighty  take  you  under  His  pro 
tection,  for  without  His  divine  aid  all 
human  assistance  is  vain. 

'*  May  heaven's  guardian  arm  protect  my  absent  friends, 
From  danger  guard  them,  and  from  want  defend." 

Forgive  my  dear,  the  repetition  of  these 
lines,  but  they  just  darted  into  my  mind. 

near  Fredericksburg,  but  having  received  the  first  appointment  to 
the  office  of  Collector  of  the  Customs  for  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth 
under  the  Federal  government,  he  removed  with  his  family  to  the 
latter  place.  He  died  September  I,  1797,  while  on  a  trip  to 
Newport,  Rhode  Island,  and  was  buried  there  in  Trinity 
churchyard.  By  his  wife,  Martha  Fox,  he  had  several  children, 
of  whom  Colonel  William  Lindsay  was  a  prominent  officer  of  the 
United  States  Army. — Bland  MSS.,  Cong.  Lib.,  Wash.; 
Heitman;  "Lindsay  Genealogy,"  225  (Albany,  1889);  Norfolk 
Herald,  Sept.  29,  1838  ;  Columbian  Sentinel  (Boston), 
September  13,  1797. 


1777]  Sally   Wister  73 

Nothing  worth  relating  has  occurred 
this  afternoon.  Now  for  trifles.  I  have 
set  a  stocking  on  the  needles,  and  intend 
to  be  mighty  industrious.  This  evening 
some  of  our  folks  heard  a  very  heavy 
cannon.  We  supposed  it  to  be  fir'd  by 
the  English.  The  report  seem'd  to  come 
from  Philada.  We  hear  the  American 
army  will  be  within  five  miles  of  us  to 
night. 

The  uncertainty  of  our  position  en 
grosses  me  quite.  Perhaps  to  be  in  the 
midst  of  war,  and  ruin,  and  the  clang  of 
arms.  But  we  must  hope  the  best. 


Here,  my  dear,  passes  an  interval  of 
several  weeks,  in  which  nothing  happen'd 
worth  the  time  and  paper  it  wou'd  take 
to  write  it.1  The  English,  however,  in 

1  We  are  unfortunately  given  nothing  in  relation  to  the 
Battle  of  Germantown,  which  occurred  October  4th,  in  this  inter 
val.  The  omission  is  difficult  to  understand,  becauses  she  alludes, 
later,  to  "  the  battle  of  Germantown,  and  the  horrors  of  that 
day."— H.  M.  J. 


74  Journal   of         [Oct.  19 

the  interim,  had  taken  possession  of  the 
city. 

Second  Day,    October  the  ipth,  77/7. 

Now  for  new  and  uncommon  scenes. 
As  I  was  lying  in  bed,  and  ruminating  on 
past  and  present  events,  and  thinking 
how  happy  I  shou'd  be  if  I  cou'd  see 
you,  Liddy  came  running  into  the  room, 
and  said  there  was  the  greatest  drumming, 
fifing,  and  rattling  of  waggons  that  ever 
she  had  heard.  What  to  make  of  this 
we  were  at  a  loss.  We  dress'd  and  down 
stairs  in  a  hurry.  Our  wonder  ceas'd. 

The  British  had  left  Germantown,  and 
our  Army  was  marching  to  take  pos 
session.  It  was  the  general  opinion  that 
they  wou'd  evacuate  the  capital.1  Sister 


1  On  this  date  the  British  withdrew  from  Germantown  into 
Philadelphia,  and  the  Americans  moved  down  the  Skippack  Road, 
and  the  roads  adjacent,  to  take  a  nearer  position.  Washington's 
headquarters,  for  some  days,  were  at  "James  Morris's,  on  the 
Skippack  road,"  and  on  the  ad  of  November,  at  Whitemarsh,  at 
the  Emlen  mansion  hereafter  mentioned.  It  was  the  movement 
of  troops  down  the  Morris  road,  no  doubt, — "half  a  mile  away," 
— that  Sally  and  her  friends  went  to  see. — H.  M.  J. 


1777]  Sally   Wister  75 

Betsy1  and  myself,  and  G.  E.2  went  about 
half  a  mile  from  home,  where  we  cou'd 
see  the  army  pass.  Thee  will  stare  at  my 
going,  but  no  impropriety  in  my  opine, 
or  I  wou'd  not  have  gone.  We  made  no 
great  stay,  but  return'd  with  excellent 
appetites  for  our  breakfast. 

Several   officers  call'd  to  get  some  re- 

1  ELIZABETH   WISTER,    Sally's  sister,   born   February  27,  1764. 

2  GEORGE  EMLEN,  son  of  George  and  Ann  (Reckless)  Emlen, 
was  born  in  Philadelphia,  February  25,  1741,  and  died  November 
23,    1  812.      He  was  married  to    Sarah   Fishbourne,  daughter  of 


William  and  Mary  (Talman)  Fishbourne,  at  Pine  Street  Friends' 
Meeting,  Philadelphia,  February  i,  1775.  The  Emlens  had  a 
country  seat  at  Whitemarsh,  fourteen  miles  north  of  the  city. 
This  estate  was  purchased  by  George  Emlen,  Sr.,  a  wealthy 
Quaker  merchant  of  Philadelphia,  in  1745,  an<^  at  h's  death, 
January  3,  1776,  it  had  come  into  possession  of  his  widow,  Ann 
Emlen,  his  son  George  Emlen,  Jr.,  and  the  other  heirs.  The 
Emlen  mansion  was  used  by  General  Washington  as  his  head 
quarters  during  the  encampment  of  the  Continental  Army  at 
Whitemarsh,  in  the  late  autumn  of  1777,  and  it  was  here  a  few 
months  later  that  Sally  Wister  visited  and  wrote  part  of  the  Journal. 
The  house  is  still  standing  near  Camp  Hill  Station  on  the  Reading 
Railroad.  It  is  now  owned  by  the  estate  of  the  late  Charles  T. 
Aiman.  —  Phila.  Deeds,  G.  7,  p.  359  j  Emlen  family  records. 


76  Journal   of         [Oct.  19 

freshment,  but  none  of  consequence  till 
the  afternoon.  Cousin  Prissa1  and  myself 
were  sitting  at  the  door ;  I  in  a  green 
skirt,  dark  short  gown,  &c.  Two  genteel 
men  of  the  military  order  rode  up  to  the 
door  :  "  Your  servant,  ladies,"  &c  ;  ask'd 
if  they  cou'd  have  quarters  for  Genl. 
Smallwood.  Aunt  Foulke  thought  she 
cou'd  accommodate  them  as  well  as  most 
of  her  neighbours,  —  said  they  could. 
One  of  the  officers  dismounted,  and  wrote 


SMALLWOOD'S   QUARTERS 


over  the  door,  which  secured  us  from 
straggling  soldiers.  After  this  he  mounted 
his  steed  and  rode  away. 

When  we  were  alone  our  dress  and  lips 
were  put  in  order  for  conquest,  and  the 

1  PRISCILLA  FOULKE,  daughter  of  William  and  Hannah,  and 
sister  of  Caleb,  Amos,  and  Jesse  ;  "  Cousin"  simply  by  courtesy, 
as  she  was  not  of  kin  to  Sally.  She  was  born  Oct.  3,  1744,  and 
died  Jan.  25,  1821,  unmarried. — H.  M.  J. 


j?77]          Sally  Wister  77 

hopes   of  adventures  gave    brightness    to 
each  before  passive  countenance. 

Thee  must  be  told  of  a  Dr.  Gould,1 
who,  by  accident,  had  made  an  acquaint 
ance  with  my  father,  —  a  sensible,  con- 
versible  man,  a  Carolinian,  —  and  had 
come  to  bid  us  adieu  on  his  going  to  that 
state.  Daddy  had  prevailed  upon  him 
to  stay  a  day  or  two  with  us. 


1  DAVID  GOULD,  of  Virginia,  was  appointed  Hospital  Surgeon  in 
the  Continental  Line,  September  8,  1777,  and  Senior  Hospital 
Surgeon  in  Virginia,  October  1 1,  1779.  He  died  July  12,  1781, 
"while  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia  to  settle  his  accounts." 
(Heitman  ;  "  American  State  Papers,"  xix.,  21).  Our  journalist 
thus  notes  his  death,  in  the  back  part  of  the  book  containing  her 
Journal  : 

"  August^  1781.  And  must  I  again  trace  with  my  pen  an 
account  of  the  death  of  another  of  our  Northwales  friends  ? 
The  worthy  Dr.  Gould  : — the  last  scene  of  his  life  was  clos'd  at 
Hartford  [Harford  ?]  in  Maryland.  Clos'd  forever  those  lips, 
from  which  proceeded  the  most  beautiful  sentiments,  cloath'd  in 
the  most  elegant  expressions.  Silent  forever  that  silver  tongue, 
that  charm' d  the  listening  audience.  Flown  to  happier  regions 
that  heart,  where  all  the  social  virtues  resided,  where 
disappointment  shall  never  enter. 

"  I  hope 

"'The  hand  of  friendship  rais'd  his  languid  head 
"  'And  smooth'd  the  pillow  of  his  dying  bed.'  " 


78  Journal   of         [Oct.  i9 

In  the  evening  his  Generalship1  came 
with  six  attendants,  which  compos'd  his 
family,  a  large  guard  of  soldiers,  a  number 
of  horses  and  baggage-waggons.  The  yard 
and  house  were  in  confusion,  and  glitter'd 
with  military  equipments. 

Gould  was  intimate  with  Smallwood, 
and  had  gone  into  Jesse's  to  see  him. 
While  he  was  there,  there  was  great  run 
ning  up  and  down  stairs,  so  I  had  an 


1  WILLIAM  SMALLWOOD,  son  of  Bayne  and  Priscilla  (Heabard) 
Smallwood,  was  born  in  Maryland  in  1732.  His  father  was  a 
merchant  and  planter,  at  one  time  presiding  officer  of  the  Court 

of  Common  Pleas, 
and  also  a  member 
of  the  House  of 
Burgesses  ;  his 
mother  was  a  native 
of  Virginia.  At  an 
early  age  he  was  sent  to  school  in  England,  where  he  finished  his 
education.  On  January  2,  1776,  he  was  made  Colonel  of  the 
Maryland  Battalion,  and  on  July  10,  with  nine  companies,  he 
joined  Washington  in  New  York.  His  troops  took  an  active 
part  in  the  Battle  of  Brooklyn  Heights,  and  at  White  Plains. 
At  White  Plains  he  was  wounded,  and  for  his  gallantry  on  the 
occasion  Congress  appointed  him  a  Brigadier-General,  October  23, 
1776.  He  was  present  at  the  Battles  of  Brandywine  and  German- 
town.  At  the  latter  place  his  Maryland  troops  retrieved  the  day, 
and  captured  part  of  the  enemy's  camp.  During  the  winter  of 


1777]  Sally  Wister  79 

opportunity  of  seeing  and  being  seen,  the 
former  the  most  agreeable,  to  be  sure. 
One  person,  in  particular,  attracted  my 
notice.  He  appear'd  cross  and  reserv'd  ; 
but  thee  shall  see  how  agreeably  disap 
pointed  I  was. 

Dr.  Gould  usher'd  the  gentlemen  into 
our  parlour,  and  introduced  them,  — 
"  Gen'l  Smallwood,  Capt.  Furnival,  Major 


1777-1778  he  was  stationed  at  Wilmington,  Delaware.  He  won 
new  laurels  in  the  southern  campaign,  and  received  the  thanks  of 
Congress.  In  September,  1780,  he  was  given  the  rank  of 
Major-General,  and  remained  in  the  army  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  In  1785,  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  but  in  the  same  year 
was  chosen  Governor  of  Maryland,  and  served  in  the  latter  office 
until  1 788.  He  then  retired  to  his  plantation  called  "Matta woman," 
on  the  Potomac,  in  Charles  County,  and  resided  there  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  The  registers  of  Durham  Parish  show  that 
he  took  an  active  part  in  the  vestry  meetings.  In  1791  his  sub 
scription  to  the  Vestry  was  estimated  on  three  thousand  pounds  of 
tobacco,  the  largest  crop  in  the  parish.  He  died  unmarried, 
February  14,  1792,  and  is  buried  on  his  plantation;  his  estate 
passed  to  collateral  heirs.  His  old  Colonial  homestead,  built  of 
brick,  still  stands  upon  a  high  promontory  on  the  shore  of  the 
Potomac.  On  July  4,  1898,  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revo 
lution  erected  there  a  granite  monument  to  his  memory. — Nat. 
Cyc.  of  Amer.  Bio.,  IX.,  2925  Heitman  ;  Md.  Journal  and 
Bah.  Advertiser,  Feb.  21,  1791. 


80  Journal   of         [Oct.  19 

Stodard,  Mr.  Prig,  Capt.  Finley,1  and 
Mr.  Clagan,2  Col.  Wood,  and  Col.  Line." 
These  last  two  did  not  come  with  the 
Gen'l.  They  are  Virginians,  and  both 
indispos'd.  The  Gen'l  and  suite  are 
Mary  landers. 


^^  ~  1  EBENEZER  FINLEY,  of  Maryland, 

^70       ^^st  f  was     ma^e      Captain     of     Maryland 
trW****-?      Artillery,      July     4,      1777.        This 
company   formed    part    of    the    First 

Continental  Artillery,  May  30,  1778.  In  June,  1780,  Captain 
Finley  became  Department  Judge  Advocate  of  the  Southern 
Department,  and  continued  in  that  office  until  the  close  of  the 
war. — Heitman. 

2  HORATIO  CLAGETT,  or  Claggett,  son  of  Thomas  Clagett, 
of  "  Piscataway,"  St.  George's  County,  Maryland,  served  as 
Ensign  of  the  Third  Battalion  Maryland  Flying  Camp,  from  July  to 

December,       1776. 

He    became    First 

Lieutenant  of  the 
third  Maryland  regi 
ment,  December  10, 

1776,  and  Captain,  October  10,  1777.  He  was  transferred  to  the 
Fifth  Maryland,  January  I,  1781,  and  to  the  Third  Maryland, 
January  2,  1783.  He  was  retained  in  the  Maryland  Battalion, 
April,  1783,  and  on  the  3Oth  of  September  was  given  the  rank 
of  Brevet-Major.  His  service  in  the  army  continued  until 
November  3,  1783.  After  the  war  he  went  to  London,  England, 
married  and  died  there. — Heitman  ;  W.  W.  Bowie,  "  Bowies 
and  Their  Kindred  "  (Washington,  D.  C.,  1899),  399. 


1777]  Sally   Wister  81 

Be  assur'd  I  did  not  stay  long  with  so 
many  men,  but  secur'd  a  good  retreat, 
heart-safe,  so  far.  Some  sup'd  with  us, 
others  at  Jesse's.  They  retir'd  about  ten, 
in  good  order. 

How  new  is  our  situation  !  I  feel  in 
good  bpirits,  though  surrounded  by  an 
Army,  the  house  full  of  officers,  the  yard 
alive  with  soldiers,  —  very  peaceable  sort 
of  men,  tho'.  They  eat  like  other  folks, 
talk  like  them,  and  behave  themselves 
with  elegance  ;  so  I  will  not  be  afraid  of 
them,  that  I  won't. 

Adieu.  I  am  going  to  my  chamber  to 
dream,  I  suppose,  of  bayonets  and  swords, 
sashes,  guns,  and  epaulets. 

Third  Day   Morn.y    October  2Oth. 

I  dare  say  thee  is  impatient  to  know 
my  sentiments  of  the  officers  ;  so,  while 
Somnus  embraces  them,  and  the  house  is 
still,  take  their  characters  according  to 
their  rank. 

The  General  is  tall,  portly,  well  made  : 
a  truly  martial  air,  the  behaviour  and 


82 


Journal   of         [Oct.  20 


manner  of  a  gentleman,  a  good  under 
standing,  &  great  humanity  of  disposition, 
constitute  the  character  of  Smallwood. 

Col.  Wood,1  from  what  we  hear  of  him 
and  what  we  see,  is  one  of  the  most 
amiable  of  men ;  tall  and  genteel,  an 
agreeable  countenance  and  deportment. 
These  following  lines  will  more  fully 
characterize  him  : 

"  How  skillM  he  is  in  each  obliging  art, 
The  mildest  manners  with  the  bravest  heart." 

The  cause  he  is  fighting  for  alone  tears 

1  JAMES  WOOD,   born   in    1750,  was   a   son   of    Colonel  James 
Wood,  founder  of  Winchester,  Virginia.      In   1774  the  son  was 


commissioned  by  Lord  Dunmore  a  Captain  of  Virginia  troops,  and 
in  1775  he  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Burgesses  from  Frederick 
County,  Virginia.  In  1776  he  was  appointed  by  the  House  of 
Burgesses  to  serve  as  Colonel  of  the  Twelfth,  afterward  called  the 
Eighth,  Regiment  of  the  Virginia  Line,  and  served  until  January  I, 
1783.  In  1783  he  was  commissioned  a  Brigadier-General.  He 
was  elected  Governor  of  Virginia  in  1796.  He  died  at  Olney, 
near  Richmond,  Virginia,  July  16,  1813. — Heitman  ;  Appleton's 
"  Cyc.  of  Biog." 


General   William    Smalhvood 


I???]  Sally   Wister  83 

him  from  the  society  of  an  amiable  wife 
and  engaging  daughter ;  with  tears  in  his 
eyes  he  often  mentions  the  sweets  of 
domestic  life. 

Col.  Line1  is  not  married ;  so  let  me 
not  be  too  warm  in  his  praise,  lest  you 
suspect.  He  is  monstrous  tall  &  brown, 
but  has  a  certain  something  in  his  face 
and  conversation  very  agreeable  ;  he  enter 
tains  the  highest  notions  of  honour,  is 
sensible  and  humane,  and  a  brave  officer ; 
he  is  only  seven  and  twenty  years  old, 
but,  by  a  long  indisposition  and  constant 
fatigue,  looks  vastly  older,  and  almost 
worn  to  a  skeleton,  but  very  lively  and 
talkative. 


1  GEORGE  LYNE,  of  King  and  Queen  County,  Virginia, 
represented  his  county  in  the  Virginia  Assembly  in  1775.  He 
received  the  appointment  of  Captain  of  the  Virginia  State  Forces, 
March  8,  1776;  Major  of  the  Thirteenth  Virginia  Regiment, 
November  I  z,  of  the  same  year  j  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Ninth 
Virginia  Regiment,  September  28,  1777.  He  resigned  from  the 
Army  November  14,  1777,  and  entered  the  Virginia  House  of 
Burgesses,  where  he  continued  until  1780.  He  also  served  as  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  War. — Heitman  ;  Journal  House  of 
Delegates,  Virginia,  1833,  Doc.  No.  31  ;  Stanard,  Virginia 
Regis  tert  199. 


84  Journal   ot          [Oct.  20 

Capt.  Furnival,1 — I  need  not  say  more 
of  him  than  that  he  has,  excepting  one 
or  two,  the  handsomest  face  I  ever  saw, 
a  very  fine  person ;  fine  light  hair  and 
a  great  deal  of  it,  adds  to  the  beauty  of 
his  face. 

Well,  here  comes  the  glory,  the  Major, 
so  bashful,  so  famous,  &c.  He  shou'd 
come  before  the  Captain,  but  never  mind. 
I  at  first  thought  the  Major  cross  and 
proud,  but  I  was  mistaken.  He  is  about 
nineteen,  nephew  to  the  Gen'l,  and  acts 
as  Major  of  brigade  to  him  ;  he  cannot 

1  ALEXANDER    FURNIVAL,    of   Baltimore,   Maryland,   born  about 
1752,    was    made    Second    Lieutenant    of    Smith's    Independent 


Company  of  Maryland  Artillery,  January  14,  1776.  Later  he  was 
raised  to  the  rank  of  Captain.  He  retired  from  the  Army  in  July, 
1779.  In  1793  he  was  Postmaster  of  Baltimore.  He  died 
September  14,  1807,  at  Harmony,  Baltimore  County,  Maryland, 
in  his  55th  year  j  "for  many  years  a  respectable  inhabitant  of  this 
city."  —  Federal  Gazette  and  Baltimore  Advertiser,  Sept.  17, 
1807;  Heitman  ;  Maryland  Journal,  November  25,  1793. 


Major  William  Truman  Stoddert 


1777]  Sally  Wister  85 

be  extoll'd  for  the  graces  of  person,  but 
for  those  of  the  mind  he  may  justly  be 
celebrated ;  he  is  large  in  his  person, 
manly,  and  an  engaging  countenance  and 
address.1 


1  WILLIAM  TRUMAN  STODDERT,  son  of  John  Truman  and  Lucy 
Heabard  (Smallwood)  Stoddert,  was  born  in  1759,  probably  on  his 
father's  part  of  the  plantation  of  "  Southampton  Enlarged," 
on  Pomunkey  Creek,  Charles  County,  Maryland.  His  great-grand 
father,  James  Stoddert,  a  wealthy  planter  of  "Southampton," 
Prince  George  County,  who  is  said  to  have  emigrated  from  Scotland 
to  Maryland  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  made 
his  will  (Upper  Marlboro,  Md.,  Liber  i,  page  153)  March  29, 
172,6  (Probated  May  31,  1726),  leaving  to  his  son  John  Stoddert 
a  plantation  on  Smith's  Point. 

John  Stoddert,  born  in  1704,  and  died  October  20,  1730, 
aged  42  years,  was  married  prior  to  1730  to  Marianna  Truman 
Greenfield,  daughter  of  Thomas  Truman  Greenfield,  of  Trent 
Hall,  St.  Mary's  County,  Maryland,  by  his  wife  Susanna  Chesel- 
dine,  daughter  of  Kenelm  Cheseldine  and  his  wife  Mary  Gerard, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Gerard,  of  the  noble  family  of  Bromley. 
Thomas  Truman  Greenfield  was  a  son  of  Thomas  Greenfield,  of 
Prince  George  County  (a  native,  as  he  states  in  his  will,  dated 
1715,  of  Gedling,  England),  by  his  wife  Martha  Truman. 

John  Stoddert,  of  Charles  County,  died  May  12,  1767,  aged 
63  years,  rich  in  lands  and  negroes.  In  his  will  (La  Plata,  Md  , 
A.  D.  5,  page  364),  dated  May  6  and  probated  May  18,  1767, 
he  directs  that  he  be  buried  beside  his  deceased  wife,  "in  my  own 
burying  Ground  without  the  least  shew  of  pomp  or  Grandeure  more 
than  the  presence  of  a  few  of  my  neighbours  decently  attending  my 
Corpse  to  its  place  of  Interement  and  their  witnessing  its  being 


86  Journal   ot          [Oct.  20 

Finley  is  wretched  ugly,  but  he  went 
away  last  night,  so  shall  not  particularize 
him. 

Nothing  of  any  moment  to-day ;  no 
acquaintance  with  the  officers.  Col.  Wood 
and  Line  and  Gould  din'd  with  us.  I 


Covered  with  Clay,  a  Glass  of  wine  may  be  asked  them  to  Drink 
without  any  other  Expence.  This  also  my  Desire  that  none  of  my 
Children  put  themselves  into  a  mourning  Dress  for  my  Deathe." 
He  leaves  to  his  grandson,  William  Truman  Stoddert,  son  of  his 
deceased  son,  John  Truman  Stoddert,  one  half  of  plantation  "  I 
now  live  on,"  called  "  South  Hampton  Enlarged,"  500  acres  of 
which  "  I  possed  his  father  John  Truman  Stoddert  with  but  never 
Confirmed  to  him." 

John  Truman  Stoddert,  son  of  John  and  Marianna  Stoddert, 
and  first  cousin  of  Benjamin  Stoddert,  first  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
was  born  July  1 8,  1732  (Register  of  St.  John's  Parish,  Prince 
George  County).  His  wife  was  Lucy  Heabard  Smallwood, 
daughter  of  Bayne  and  Priscilla  (Heabard)  Smallwood,  and  sister 
of  General  William  Smallwood  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  She 
made  her  will  (La  Plata,  Md.,  A.  E.  6,  page  35),  November  2, 
1767  (Probated  October  22,  1768),  and  bequeathed  her  estate  to 
her  only  child,  William  Truman  Stoddert,  appointing  her  father, 
Bayne  Smallwood,  executor.  She  mentions  her  sisters,  Eleanor 
and  Priscilla  Smallwood,  Elizabeth  Leiper,  and  Margaret  Stoddert. 

William  Truman  Stoddert,  thus  left  an  orphan  at  the  age  of 
nine  years,  was  probably  brought  up  in  the  family  of  his  grand 
father,  Bayne  Smallwood.  He  attended  Philadelphia  College,  now 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  but  did  not  remain  to  complete 
the  course,  leaving  the  institution  in  1776,  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
as  his  son  states,  to  enter  the  ranks  of  the  patriot  army.  He 


U 


/V*   M- 


^w».ai  -4-^n  . 


U 


AS.  ft* 


"The    Major."— I. 

Photographed  from  the  original  manuscript. 


"The    Major."— II. 


1777]  Sally  Wister  87 

was    dressed    in    my    chintz,    and    look'd 
smarter  than  night   before. 

Fourth- Day,  Oct.   2ist. 

I    just     now    met    the     Major,    very 
reserv'd ;  nothing  but  "  Good  morning,'* 


received  the  appointment  of  Ensign  of  the  Fifth  Maryland  Regi 
ment,  December  10,  1776.  From  the  early  summer  of  1777  to 
May,  1779,  although  not  regularly  appointed  by  the  State,  he 
acted  as  Major  of  Brigade  to  his  uncle,  General  William  Small- 
wood,  participating  in  the  principal  battles  of  the  period.  In  May, 
1779,  in  the  re-arrangement  of  the  Maryland  Line,  Major  Stoddert 
was  regularly  appointed  First  Lieutenant  of  the  Fifth  Regiment, 
General  Washington,  in  a  letter  dated  May  2,8,  1779,  to  Governor 
Johnson  of  Maryland,  stating  that  "  Mr.  Stoddert  for  near  Two 
years  [has  acted]  as  a  Brigade  Major  to  General  Smallwood." 
(Md.  Archives,  XXL,  430,  468,  469.) 

Under  date  of  January  4,  1780,  Sally  Wister  notes  that  "  the 
worthy  Stodard  is  much  indisposed  at  his  home  in  ' '  Maryland. 

On  January  1 ,  1781,  he  was  transferred  to  the  Fourth  Maryland 
Regiment,  in  which  he  served  until  his  retirement,  January  i, 
1783.  (Ibid.,  XVIIL,  522;  Heitman.) 

He  was  married  to  Sally  Massey,  daughter  of  Rev.  Lee  Massey, 
of  Fairfax  County,  Virginia,  for  many  years  minister  at  General 
Washington's  place  of  worship,  Pohick  Church,  near  Mount 
Vernon,  and  lived  the  life  of  a  well-to-do  Maryland  planter 
on  his  estate  called  "  Simpson  "  at  Smith's  Point,  on  the  Potomac y 
in  Charles  County.  His  fondness  for  the  hunt  is  attested  by  at 
curious  relic  that  has  descended  to  his  great-grandson,  Mr.  Gustavus 
Truman  Brown,  of  Washington,  D.  C.  This  is  an  old  hunting 
horn,  encircled  by  silver  bands,  one  of  which  bears  the  legend  : 


88 


Journal   of         [Oct.  21 


or  "  Your  servant,  madam  ";  but  Furnival 
is  most  agreeable ;  he  chats  every  oppor 
tunity  ;  but  luckily  has  a  wife  ! 

I  have  heard  strange  things  of  the 
Major.  Worth  a  fortune  of  thirty  thous 
and  pounds,  independent  of  anybody ; 

"Major  Willi™  T.  Stoddert  Durba  Hunt  from  his  friend  Wai* 
Stone.'1'' 

The  registers  of  Durham  Parish  show  that  he  was  an  active 
member  of  the  vestry,  and  from  1787  until  the  time  of  his 
death  made  annual  contributions  of  tobacco  for  the  support  of 
the  church.  In  1791  the  amount  of  his  subscription  was  ^3  73. 
6d.,  his  estimated  crop  of  tobacco  being  1000  pounds,  which  was 
exceeded  in  the  parish  only  by  that  of  his  uncle  General  Smallwood, 
who  had  a  crop  of  3000  pounds.  On  April  25,  1791,  Major 
William  T.  Stoddert,  General  William  Smallwood,  and  several 
other  gentlemen,  were  appointed  to  act  in  the  place  of  vestrymen 
to  raise  a  subscription  to  repair  the  church  and  build  a  vestry  house. 
The  last  reference  to  Major  Stoddert  in  the  registers  is  on  June  3, 
I793>  when  report  is  made  that  a  subscription  had  been  received 
from  him. 

He  died  in  1793,  his  son  records,  "at  the  age  of  34  from 
disease  caused  by  the  hardships  of  camp  life,"  and  was  interred  on 
his  plantation  of  "Simpson."  In  his  will  (La  Plata,  Md., 
A.  K.  ii,  p.  173),  dated  April  5,  1789,  probated  August  17, 
1793,  in  which  he  states  that  he  is  "sick  and  weake  in  body," 
he  leaves  "  my  dwelling  plantation  commonly  known  by  the  name 
of  Simpson  lying  on  Potomack  River  at  Smith's  Point  in 
Nanjemoy,"  one  moiety  of  land  called  "  Southampton  Enlarged," 
and  all  other  real  and  personal  estate,  in  fee  simple,  to  his  wife, 
Sally  Stoddert,  whom  he  makes  his  executor.  His  inventory, 


I???]  Sally   Wister  89 

the  Major,  moreover,  is  vastly  bashful ; 
so  much  so  he  can  hardly  look  at  the 
ladies.  (Excuse  me,  good  sir;  I  really 
thought  you  were  not  clever ;  if  'tis 
bashfulness  only,  we  will  drive  that  away.) 
Fifth-day,  Sixth-day,  and  Seventh  day 
pass'd.  The  Gen'l  still  here ;  the  Major 
still  bashful. 

First- Day   Evening. 

Prepare  to  hear  amazing  things.  The 
Gen'l  was  invited  to  dine,  was  engag'd  ; 
but  Col.  Wood  and  Line,  Majr  Stodard, 
and  Dr.  Edwards  din'd  with  us. 

In  the  afternoon,  Stodard,  addressing 
himself  to  mamma,  "  Pray,  ma'am,  do 


dated  October  24,  1793,  shows  that  he  owned  thirty-two  slaves, 
of  which  seventeen  were  at  "Smith's  Point"  and  fifteen  at 
"  Pomunkey  Quarter." 

His  only  child,  Major  John  Truman  Stoddert,  who  was 
educated  at  Princeton  and  represented  Maryland  in  Congress,  lived 
at  "  Wicomico  House,"  on  the  estate  of  West  Hatton,  Charles 
County,  where  he  died  July  19,  1870,  leaving  several  children,  of 
whom  one  is  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Stoddert  Bowie,  the  present  possessor 
of  West  Hatton,  and  widow  of  Robert  Bowie,  son  of  Governor 
Bowie,  of  Maryland. 


90  Journal  of        [Oct.  25 

you  know  Miss  Nancy  Bond1  ?  "  I  told 
him  of  the  amiable  girl's  death.  This 
major  had  been  to  Philada  College.2 

In  the  evening,  I  was  diverting  Johnny3 
at  the  table,  when  he  drew  his  chair  to  it, 
and  began  to  play  with  the  child.  I 
ask'd  him  if  he  knew  N.  Bond.  "  No, 
ma'am,  but  I  have  seen  her  very  often." 
One  word  brought  on  another,  and  we 
chatted  the  greatest  part  of  the  evening. 


1  NANCY  BOND.  —  "  On  Monday  morning  [September  9,  1776] 
died,  and  yesterday  was  interred  in  Christ-Church  Burying-ground, 
Miss     Nancy    Bond,     second     daughter    of    Dr.    Phineas     Bond, 
deceased.      She  had  just  compleated  her  igth  year,  and  possessed  so 
many  amiable  qualities,  both  natural  and   acquired,   that  she  was 
truly  dear  to  all  her  acquaintance,  and  peculiarly  the  delight  of  her 
nearest  relatives  in  her  private  and  domestic  life."  —  Pennsylvania 
Gazette,  September  18,  1776. 

2  Now  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

3  JOHN  WISTER,    Sally's    infant  brother,  was  born  March  20, 
1776,  and  died  December  12,  1862.      He  was  married  in  1798  to 
Elizabeth  Harvey,  of  Bordentown,  New  Jersey,  and  resided  at  his 


seat  "  Vernon,"  in  Germantown.  —  Wister,  "  Memoir  of  Charles 
J.  Wister"  j  Glenn,   "  Merion,"  277. 


1777]  Sally   Wister  91 

He  said  he  knew  me  directly  he  saw  me. 
Told  me  exactly  where  we  liv'd.  It  rains 
now,  so  adieu. 

Second- Day,  26tb   October. 

A  very  rainy  morning,  so  like  to  prove. 
The  officers  in  the  house  all  day. 

Second-  Day  Afternoon . 

The  General  and  officers  drank  tea 
with  us,  and  stay'd  part  of  the  evening. 
After  supper  I  went  into  aunt's  where 
sat  the  Gen'l,  Col.  Line,  and  Major 
Stodard.  So  Liddy  and  I  seated  our 
selves  at  the  table  in  order  to  read  a 
verse-book. 

The  Major  was  holding  a  candle  for 
the  Gen'l,  who  was  reading  a  newspaper. 
He  look'd  at  us,  turn'd  away  his  eyes, 
look'd  again,  put  the  candlestick  down, 
up  he  jump'd,  out  of  the  door  he  went. 

"  Well,"  said  I  to  Liddy,  "  he  will  join 
us  when  he  comes  in." 

Presently  he  return'd,  and  seated  him 
self  on  the  table. 


92  Journal   of         [Oct.  26 

"  Pray,  ladies,  is  there  any  songs  in 
that  book?" 

"  Yes,  many." 

"Can't  you  favr  me  with  a  sight  of  it?" 

"  No,    Major,   'tis  a    borrowed    book." 

"  Miss  Sally,  can't  you  sing  ? " 

"  No." 

Thee  may  be  sure  I  told  the  truth 
there.  Liddy,  saucy  girl,  told  him  I 
cou'd.  He  beg'd  and  I  deny'd  ;  for  my 
voice  is  not  much  better  than  the  voice 
of  a  raven.  We  talk'd  and  laugh'd  for 
an  hour.  He  is  very  clever,  amiable, 
and  polite.  He  has  the  softest  voice, 
never  pronounces  the  R  at  all. 

I  must  tell  thee,  to-day  arriv'd  Col. 
Guest1  and  Major  Letherberry ;  the 

1  MORDECAI  GIST,  son  of  Captain  Thomas  and  Susan  (Cockey) 
Gist,  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in  1748.  He  was 
educated  at  St.  Paul's  Parish  School,  Baltimore  County,  and  at 

the  outbreak  of  the 
Revolution  was  a  mer 
chant  doing  business  on 
Gay  Street.  At  the  be 
ginning  of  the  War  the 
young  men  of  Baltimore 
formed  the  Baltimore  Independent  Company,  and  in  July,  1776, 


1777]  Sally   Wister  93 

former  a  smart  widower,  the  latter  a 
lawyer,  a  sensible  young  fellow,  and  will 
never  swing  for  want  of  tongue. 

Dr.  Diggs1  came  Second-day ;  a  mighty 
disagreeable  man.  We  were  oblig'd  to 
ask  him  to  tea.  He  must  needs  prop 
himself  between  the  Major  and  me,  for 
which  I  did  not  thank  him.  After  I  had 
drank  tea,  I  jump'd  from  the  table,  and 
seated  myself  at  the  fire.  The  M 

elected  Gist  Captain.  He  had  command  of  this  company  until 
January  14,  1776,  when  he  was  appointed  Major  of  a  battalion  in 
Smallwood's  Maryland  Regiment.  December  10,  1776,  he  was 
made  Colonel  of  the  Third  Maryland  Regiment.  In  January, 
1779,  Congress  appointed  him  a  Brigadier-General  in  the 
Continental  Army,  and  he  took  command  of  the  Second  Maryland 
Brigade  and  served  to  the  close  of  the  War.  After  the  Revolution 
he  resided  upon  a  plantation  near  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in 
which  city  he  died,  September  12,  1792,  and  was  buried  in  Old 
St.  Michael's  churchyard. 

*This  is  doubtless  Cole 
Diggs,  of  King  William 
County,  Virginia  (son  of 
William  Diggs,  of  Denbigh),  who  became  Cornet  of  the  First 
Regiment  of  Virginia  Light  Dragoons,  December  6,  1776,  and 
Lieutenant,  April  7,  1778.  He  resigned  May  4,  1778. — 
Bland  MSS.,  Cong.  Lib.,  Wash.  ;  MSS.  of  the  Revolution, 
State  Lib.,  Richmond,  Va.  ;  Va.  Cal.  State  Papers,  VIII.,  164; 
Heitman  ;  William  and  Mary  Quart.,  I.,  19. 


94  Journal  of         [Oct.  ^^ 

followed  my  example,  drew  his  chair 
close  to  mine,  and  entertained  me  very 
agreeably. 

Oh,  Debby ;  I  have  a  thousand  things 
to  tell  thee.  I  shall  give  thee  so  droll 
an  account  of  my  adventures  that  thee 
will  smile.  "  No  occasion  of  that,  Sally," 
methinks  I  hear  thee  say,  "for  thee  tells 
me  every  trifle."  But,  child,  thee  is 
mistaken,  for  I  have  not  told  thee  half 
the  civil  things  that  are  said  of  us 
sweet  creatures  at  "  General  Smallwood's 
Quarters."  I  think  I  might  have  sent 
the  gentlemen  to  their  chambers.  I  made 
my  adieus,  and  home  I  went. 

Third  Day  Morn. 

A  polite  "  Good  morning "    from  the 

M ,    more   sociable    than    ever.     No 

wonder ;  a  stoic  cou'd  not  resist  such 
affable  damsels  as  we  are. 

Third  Day  Eve.,    October  2?th. 

We  had  again  the  pleasure  of  the 
Gen'l  and  suite  at  afternoon  tea.  He 


Colonel    Mordecai  Gist 


1777]          Sally   Wister  95 

(the  Gen'l,  I  mean)  is  most  agreeable ; 
so  lively,  so  free,  and  chats  so  gaily,  that 
I  have  quite  an  esteem  for  him.  I  must 
steel  my  heart !  Capt.  Furnival  is  gone 
to  Baltimore,  the  residence  of  his  belov'd 
wife. 

The  Major  and  I  had  a  little  chat  to 
ourselves  this  eve.  No  harm,  I  assure 
thee  :  he  and  I  are  friends. 

This  eve  came  a  parson  belonging  to 
the  Army.  He  is  (how  shall  I  describe 
him  ?)  near  seven  foot  high,  thin  and 
meagre,  not  a  single  personal  charm,  and 
very  few  mental  ones.  He  fell  violently 
in  love  with  Liddy  at  first  sight ;  the 
first  discovered  conquest  that  has  been 
made  since  the  arrival  of  the  Gen'l. 

Come,  shall  we  chat  about  Col.  Guest  ? 
He's  very  pretty ;  a  charming  person ; 
his  eyes  are  exceptional ;  very  stern  ;  and 
he  so  rolls  them  about  that  mine  always 
fall  under  them.  He  bears  the  character 
of  a  brave  officer ;  another  admirer  of 
Liddy's,  and  she  is  of  him. 

When    will    Sally's    admirers    appear? 


96  Journal   of         [Oct.  28 

Ah !  that  indeed.  Why,  Sally  has  not 
charms  sufficient  to  pierce  the  heart  of  a 
soldier.  But  still  I  won't  despair.  Who 
knows  what  mischief  I  yet  may  do  ? 

Well,  Debby,  here's  Dr.  Edwards  come 
again.  Now  we  shall  not  want  clack  ;  for 
he  has  a  perpetual  motion  in  his  head, 
and  if  he  was  not  so  clever  as  he  is,  we 
shou'd  get  tired. 

Fourth  Day,    October  28th. 
Nothing    material    engag'd    us    to-day. 

Fifth  Day,  October  2(}th. 
I  walk'd  into  aunt's  this  evening.  I 
met  the  Major.  Well,  thee  will  think 
I  am  writing  his  history ;  but  not  so. 
Pleased  with  the  rencounter,  Liddy,  Betsy, 
Stodard,  and  myself,  seated  by  the  fire, 
chatted  away  an  hour  in  lively  and 
agreeable  conversation.  I  can't  pretend 
to  write  all  he  said ;  but  he  shone  in 
every  subject  that  we  talk'd  of. 

Sixth  Day  Eve,   October  joth. 
Nothing  of  consequence. 


i?77]  Sally   Wister  97 

Seventh  Day,    October  jist. 

A  most  charming  day.  I  walk'd  to 
the  door  and  received  the  salutation  of 
the  morn  from  Stodard  and  other  officers. 
As  often  as  I  go  to  the  door,  so  often 
have  I  seen  the  Major.  We  chat  pass 
ingly,  as,  "A  fine  day,  Miss  Sally." 
"  Yes,  very  fine,  Major." 

Seventh  Day   Night. 

Another  very  charming  conversation 
with  the  young  Marylander.  He  seem'd 
possessed  of  very  amiable  manners ; 
sensible  and  agreeable.  He  has  by  his  / 
unexceptionable  deportment  engag'd  my 
esteem. 

First  Day   Morn. 

Liddy,  Betsy,  and  a  T.  L.,  prisoner  of 
this  State,  went  to  the  Mill.  We  made 
very  free  with  some  Continental  flour. 
We  powder'd  mighty  white,  to  be  sure. 
Home  we  came. 

Col.  Wood  was  standing  at  a  window 
with  a  young  officer.  He  gave  him  a 


98  Journal   of          [Nov.  i 

push  forward,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  Observe 
what  fine  girls  we  have  here."  For  all 
I  do  not  mention  Wood  as  often  as  he 
deserves,  it  is  not  that  we  are  not  sociable : 
we  are  very  much  so,  and  he  is  often  at 
our  house,  dines  or  drinks  tea  with  us 
every  day. 

Liddy  and  I  had  a  kind  of  an  adven 
ture  with  him  this  morn.  We  were  in 
his  chamber,  chatting  about  our  little 
affairs,  and  no  idea  of  being  interrupted  : 
we  were  standing  up,  each  an  arm  on  a 
chest  of  drawers ;  the  door  bang'd  open  ! 
—  Col.  Wood  was  in  the  room ;  we 
started,  the  colour  flew  into  our  faces  and 
crimson'd  us  over ;  the  tears  flew  into  my 
eyes.  It  was  very  silly;  but  his  coming 
was  so  abrupt.  He  was  between  us  and 
the  door. 

"  Ladies,  do  not  be  scar'd,  I  only  want 
something  from  my  portmanteau  ;  I  beg 
you  not  to  be  disturbed." 

We  ran  by  him  like  two  partridges, 
into  mammal  room,  threw  ourselves  into 
chairs,  and  reproach'd  each  other  for  being 


1/77]  Sally   Wister  99 

so  foolish  as  to  blush  and  look  so  silly. 
I  was  very  much  vex'd  at  myself,  so  was 
Liddy.  The  Col.  laugh'd  at  us,  and  it 
blew  over. 

The  Army  had  orders  to  march  to 
day  ;  the  regulars  accordingly  did.1  Gen'l 
Smallwood  had  the  command  of  Militia 
at  that  time,  and  they  being  in  the 
rear,  were  not  to  leave  their  encampment 
until  Second-day. 

Observe  how  militaryish  I  talk.  No 
wonder,  when  I  am  surrounded  by  people 
of  that  order. 

The  Gen'l.,  Colonels  Wood,  Line, 
Guest,  Crawford,  Majors  Stodard  and 
Letherberry,  din'd  with  us  to-day.  After 
dinner  Liddy,  Betsy,  and  thy  smart 
journalizer,  put  on  their  bonnets  deter 
mined  to  take  a  walk. 

We  left  the  house.  I  naturally  look'd 
back ;  when,  behold,  the  two  majors 
seem'd  debating  whether  to  follow  us  or 
not.  Liddy  said,  "  We  shall  have  their 
attendance " ;  but  I  did  not  think  so. 

1This  was  the  movement  to  Whitemarsh. 


ioo  Journal   of          [Nov.  i 

They  open'd  the  gate,  and  came  fast  after 
us.  They  overtook  us  about  ten  pole 
from  home,  and  beg'd  leave  to  attend  us. 
No  fear  of  a  refusal. 

They  enquir'd  where  we  were  going. 
"To  neighbour  Roberts's.  We  will  intro 
duce  you  to  his  daughters ;  you  us  to 
Gen'l  Stevens." 

The  affair  was  concluded,  and  we 
shortened  the  way  with  lively  conversation. 

Our  intention  of  going  to  Roberts's  was 
frustrated ;  the  rain  that  had  fall'n  lately 
had  rais'd  Wissahickon  too  high  to 
attempt  crossing  it  on  foot.  We  alter'd 
the  plan  of  our  ramble,  left  the  road,  and 
walk'd  near  two  miles  thro*  the  woods. 

M.  Letherberry,  observing  my  locket, 
repeated  with  the  energy  of  a  comedian — 

"  On  her  white  neck  a  sparkling  cross  she  wore, 
That  Jews  might  kiss  or  infidels  adore.'* 

I  repli'd  my  trinket  bore  no  resemblance 

to  a  cross. 

"  'Tis  something  better,  ma'am." 
'Tis    nonsense    to    pretend    to   recount 


1777]  Sally   Wistqr  TOT 

all  that  was  said ;  my  memory  is  not  so 
obliging ;  but  it  is  sufficient  that  nothing 
happen'd  during  our  little  excursion  but 
what  was  very  agreeable  and  entirely 
consistent  with  the  strictest  rules  of  polite 
ness  &  decorum. 

I  was  vex'd  a  little  at  tearing  my 
muslin  petticoat.  I  had  on  my  white 
whim,  quite  as  nice  as  a  First-day  in  town. 
We  returned  home  safe. 

Smallwood,  Wood,  and  Stodard  drank 
tea  with  us,  and  spent  the  greatest  part 
of  the  evening. 

I  declare  this  Genl  is  very,  very  enter 
taining,  so  good  natur'd,  so  good  humour'd, 
yet  so  sensible ;  I  wonder  he  is  not 
married.  Are  there  no  ladies  form'd  to 
his  taste  ? 

Some  people,  my  dear,  think  that 
there's  no  difference  between  good  nature 
and  good  humour ;  but,  according  to  my 
opinion,  they  differ  widely.  Good  nature 
consists  in  a  naturally  amiable  and  even 
disposition,  free  from  all  peevishness  and 
fretting.  It  is  accompanied  by  a  natural 


102  journal   of          [Nov.  i 

gracefulness,  —  a  manner  of  doing  and 
saying  everything  agreeably ;  in  short,  it 
steals  the  senses  and  captivates  the  heart. 
Good  humour  consists  in  being  pleas'd, 
and  who  wou'd  thank  a  person  for  being 
cheerful,  if  they  had  nothing  to  make 
them  otherways.  Good  humour  is  a  very 
agreeable  companion  for  an  afternoon ; 
but  give  me  good  nature  for  life. 
Adieu. 


Second  Day  Morn,  November  is!.1 

To-day  the  Militia  marches,  and  the 
Gen'l  and  officers  leave  us.  Heigh  ho  ! 
I  am  very  sorry ;  for  when  you  have  been 
with  agreeable  people,  'tis  impossible  not 
to  feel  regret  when  they  bid  you  adieu, 
perhaps  forever.  When  they  leave  us 
we  shall  be  immur'd  in  solitude. 

The  Major  looks  dull. 


1  Second  day — Monday — was  November  3d.  The  dates  here 
are  two  days  wrong,  and  as  the  reader  may  perceive  for  himself, 
are  inconsistent  with  those  heretofore  given,  which  were  one  day 
wrong. — H.  M.  J. 


1777]  Sally    Wister  103 

Second  Day  Noon. 

About  two  o'clock  the  Gen.  and  Major 
came  to  bid  us  adieu.  With  daddy  and 
mammy  they  shook  hands  very  friendly ; 
to  us  they  bow'd  politely. 

Our  hearts  were  full.  I  thought  Major 
was  affected. 

"  Good-bye,  Miss  Sally,"  spoken  very 
low.  He  walk'd  hastily  and  mounted  his 
horse.  They  promised  to  visit  us  soon. 

We  stood  at  the  door  to  take  a  last 
look,  all  of  us  very  sober. 

The  Major  turn'd  his  horse's  head, 
and  rode  back,  dismounted. 

"  I  have  forgot  my  pistols,"  pass'd  us, 
and  ran  upstairs. 

He  came  swiftly  back  to  us,  as  if  wish 
ing,  through  inclination,  to  stay  ;  by  duty 
compell'd  to  go.  He  remounted  his  horse. 

"  Farewell,  ladies,  till  I  see  you  again," 
and  canter'd  away. 

We  look'd  at  him  till  the  turn  in  the 
road  hid  him  from  our  sight.  "Amiable 
major,"  "  Clever  fellow,"  "  Good  young 
man,"  was  echo'd  from  one  to  the  other. 


Journal   of          [NOV.  i 

I  wonder  whether  we  shall  ever  see  him 
again.  He  has  our  wishes  for  his  safety. 
Well,  here's  Uncle  Miles.1  Heartily 
glad  of  that  am  I.  His  family  are  well, 
and  at  Reading. 

Second  Day   Even. 

Jesse,     who     went     with     the     Gen'l, 
return'd.     I  had  by  him  a  letter  from  my 

1  SAMUEL  MILES,  as  he  records  in  his  autobiography,  was  born 
of  Welsh  ancestry,  March  n,  1739,  in  Whitemarsh, 
Montgomery  County,  Pennsylvania.  In  his  sixteenth  year  he 


'      '-^  __  -^ 


joined  a  company  of  militia  and  took  part  in  the  defence  of 
Northampton  County  against  the  depredations  of  hostile  Indians. 
In  1758  he  accompanied  the  expedition  against  Fort  DuQuesne, 
and  in  1760  was  advanced  to  the  command  of  a  company.  At 
the  close  of  the  war,  he  was  married,  February  16,  1761,  to 
Catharine  Wister,  daughter  of  John  Wister,  the  emigrant.  He 
located  in  Philadelphia,  where,  he  says,  he  engaged  "  principally 
in  the  rum  and  wine  trade,  but  part  of  the  time  in  the  dry  goods 
business  also."  In  1766  he  became  a  warden  and  three  years 
later  a  commissioner  of  the  city.  He  was  elected  a  member  of 
Assembly  in  1772,  and  in  1775.  ^n  '774  he  removed  to 
Montgomery  County,  having  purchased  a  plantation  near  Spring 


Colonel  Samuel   Miles 


1777]  Sally  Wister  105 

dear  Polly  Fishbourn.1  She  is  at  George 
Emlen's.  Headquarters  is  at  their  house. 
We  had  compliments  from  the  Gen'l  and 
Major.  They  are  very  well  disposed  of 
at  Evan  Meredith's,  six  miles  from  here. 


Mills.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Safety  until 
the  spring  of  1776,  when  he  took  command  of  a  regiment 
formed  in  Montgomery  county.  At  the  battle  of  Long  Island  he 
bore  himself  with  gallantry,  but  was  made  a  prisoner.  During  his 
imprisonment  he  was  appointed  a  Brigadier- General  by  the 
Pennsylvania  Council  of  Safety,  but  on  his  release  he  says,  *'  As 
I  could  not  obtain  in  the  army  the  rank  that  my  appointment  of 
December,  1776,  entitled  me  to,  I  remained  upon  my  farm." 
In  1778  he  was  appointed  Auditor  of  Public  Accounts,  and  later 
became  Quartermaster-General  of  Pennsylvania,  serving  until  1782. 
He  then  retired  from  the  service,  and  engaged  in  sugar  refining. 
He  was  made  a  judge  of  the  High  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals  in 
1783;  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Censors  of  Philadelphia  in 
17875  a  member  of  the  Executive  Council  of  the  city  in  1788 
and  1790;  an  alderman  in  17895  and  Mayor  of  Philadelphia  in 
1790^  In  1793  he  removed  with  his  family  to  a  farm  in 
Cheltenham,  Montgomery  County,  where  he  died  December  29, 
1805.  He  owned  much  land  in  Centre  County,  and  laid  out  the 
town  of  Milesburg.  His  autobiography  (printed  in  American 
Historical  Record,  II.,  49-53,  114-118)  and  other  manuscripts 
are  in  possession  of  F.  Potts  Green,  Esq.,  of  Bellefonte,  Pa. 

^WARY  FlSHBOURNE,    ^^          ^ 

daughter   of    William  0  0  t<Uj 

and   Mary   (Talman)  J 

Fishbourne,  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  February  9,  1760,  and  died 

there,  September  ai,  184*.     She  was  married  January  3,   1787, 


106  Journal   of          [Nov.  2 

I    wrote   to   Polly   by    Uncle  Miles,  who 
waited  upon  Gen'l  Washington  next  morn. 

Third  Day   Morn,   November  2d. 

It  seems  strange  not  to  see  our  house 
as  it  used  to  be.  We  are  very  still.  No 
rattling  of  waggons,  glittering  of  musquets. 
The  beating  of  the  distant  drum  is  all  we 
hear. 

Cols.  Wood,  Line,  Guest  and  M. 
Letherberry  are  still  here ;  the  two  last 


by  Friends'  ceremony  to  Dr.  Samuel  Powell  Griffitts,  a 
distinguished  physician  of  Philadelphia,  son  of  William  and  Abigail 
(Powell)  Griffitts.  Dr.  Griffitts  was  graduated  from  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  with  the  degree  of  A.B.,  in  17805 
and  the  degree  of  M.D.,  in  1781.  He  then  proceeded  to 
Europe  and  studied  medicine  in  Paris,  London  and  Edinburgh. 
From  1791  to  1796  he  held  the  chair  of  Materia  Medica  in  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  born  July  21,  1759,  anc^ 
died  May  12,  1826. 

Susanna  Dillwyn,  of  Burlington,  in  writing  to  her  father 
William  Dillwyn,  then  in  London,  under  date  of  Nov.  23,  1786, 
says  :  "It  is  said  that  Doctor  Griffitts  will  go  to  the  next  monthly 
meeting  with  Polly  Fishbourne,  sister  to  George  Emlen's  wife — 
who  it  was  thought  he  address' d  before  he  went  to  Europe." 
And  later,  March  13,  1787,  she  writes  :  "  I  believe  I  told  thee 
that  Doctor  Griffitts  had  or  was  to  pass  meeting — he  was  married 
about  two  months  since  to  Polly  Fishbourn,  a  very  deserving 
young  woman  —  few  matches  have  met  with  such  general 


17/7]  Sally   Wister  107 

leave  us  to-day.  Wood  and  Line  will 
soon  bid  us  adieu.  Amiable  Wood  ;  he  is 
esteem'd  by  all  that  know  him  !  Every 
body  has  a  good  word  for  him. 

Here  I  skip  a  week  or  two,  nothing  of 
consequence  occurring.  Wood  &  Line 
are  gone.  Some  time  since  arriv'd  two 
officers,  Lieutenant  Lee  and  Warring,1 
Virginians.  I  had  only  the  salutations 
of  the  morn  from  them. 

Lee  is  not  remarkable  one  way  or  the 
other ;  Warring  an  insignificant  piece 
enough.  Lee  sings  prettily,  and  talks  a 
great  deal ;  how  good  turkey  hash  and 
fry'd  hominy  is  —  (a  pretty  discourse 
to  entertain  the  ladies),  —  extols  Virginia 
and  execrates  Maryland,  which,  by-the-by, 

approbation.  The  Doctor  is  highly  esteem'd,  and  everybody 
seem'd  pleased  that  he  was  likely  to  be  happily  settled — they  live 
in  Walnut  street  next  to  S.  Lewis." — Dr.  Robert  C.  Moon, 
"Morris  Genealogy,"  609-611  ;  R.  F.  Stone,  "Physicians  and 
Surgeons,"  190—191  ;  Dillwyn  MSS. 

1  HENRY  WARING,  of  Virginia,  became  Ensign  of  the  Seventh 
Virginia,  March  5,  1776  ;  Second  Lieutenant,  October  10  of  the 
same  year;  First  Lieutenant,  October  10,  1777;  was  transferred 
to  Fifth  Virginia,  September  14,  1778  He  resigned  October  18, 
1779. — Heitman. 


io8  Journal   of          [Dec.  5 

I  provok'd  them  to ;  for  though  I  admire 
both  Virga  and  Maryd,  I  laugh'd  at  the 
former  and  prais'd  the  latter.  Ridiculed 
their  manner  of  speaking.  I  took  great 
delight  in  teasing  them.  I  believe  I  did 
it  sometimes  ill-natur'dly ;  but  I  don't 
care.  They  were  not,  I  am  certain  almost, 
first-rate  gentlemen.  (How  different  from 
our  other  officers.)  But  they  are  gone  to 
Virginia,  where  they  may  sing,  dance,  and 
eat  turkey  hash  and  fry'd  hominy  all  day 
long,  if  they  choose. 

Nothing  scarcely  lowers  a  man  in  my 
opinion  more  than  talking  of  eating,  what 
they  love  and  what  they  hate.  Lee  and 
Warring  were  proficients  in  this  science. 
Enough  of  them  ! 

December  $tht   Sixth  Day.1 

Oh,  gracious!  Debby,  I  am  all  alive 
with  fear.  The  English  have  come  out 
to  attack  (as  we  imagine)  our  army.  They 
are  on  Chestnut  Hill,  our  army  three 

1  The  dates  are  now  accurate  j   December  5th  fell  on  Sixth-day, 
Friday.— H    M.  J. 


i?77]  Sally   Wister  109 

miles  this  side.1     What  will  become  of  us, 
only  six  miles  distant  ? 

We  are  in  hourly  expectation  of  an 
engagement.  I  fear  we  shall  be  in  the 
midst  of  it.  Heaven  defend  us  from  so 
dreadful  a  sight.  The  battle  of  German- 
town,  and  the  horrors  of  that  day,  are 
recent  in  my  mind.  It  will  be  sufficiently 
dreadful  if  we  are  only  in  hearing  of 
the  firing,  to  think  how  many  of  our 
fellow -creatures  are  plung'd  into  the 
boundless  ocean  of  eternity,  few  of  them 
prepar'd  to  meet  their  fate.  But  they  are 
summon'd  before  an  all-merciful  Judge, 
from  whom  they  have  a  great  deal  to  hope. 

Seventh   Day,    December  6th. 
No  firing  this  morn.      I   hope  for  one 
more  quiet  day. 

Seventh  Day;    4.  o'clock. 
I  was  much  alarm'd  just  now,  sitting  in 
the  parlour,  indulging  melancholy  reflec- 

1  This  was  Howe's  famous  demonstration  against  Washington's 
position  at  Whitemarsh,  which  was  fully  expected  to  be  a  general 
battle.  The  British  left  the  city  December  4th. — H.  M.  J. 


no  Journal   of          [Dec.  6 

tions,  when  somebody  burst  open  the 
door,  "Sally,  here's  Major  Stodard ! " 

I  jumped.  Our  conjectures  were  various 
concerning  his  coming.  The  poor  fellow, 
from  great  fatigue  and  want  of  rest, 
together  with  being  expos'd  to  the  night 
air,  had  caught  cold,  which  brought  on 
a  fever.  He  cou'd  scarcely  walk,  and  I 
went  into  aunt's  to  see  him. 

I  was  surpris'd.  Instead  of  the  lively, 
alert,  blooming  Stodard,  who  was  on  his 
feet  the  instant  we  enter'd,  he  look'd  pale, 
thin,  and  dejected,  too  weak  to  rise.  A 
bow,  and  "  How  are  you,  Miss  Sally  ?  " 

"  How  does  thee  do,  Major  ?  " 

I  seated  myself  near  him,  inquired  the 
cause  of  his  indisposition,  ask'd  for  the 
Gen'l,  receiv'd  his  compliments.  Not 
willing  to  fatigue  him  with  too  much  chat, 
I  bid  him  adieu. 

To-night  Aunt  Hannah  Foulke,  Senr,1 
administered  something.  Jesse  assisted 
him  to  his  chamber.  He  had  not  lain 

1  Hannah  Foulke,  widow  of  William. 


1/77]  Sally   Wister  m 

down  five  minutes  before  he  was  fast 
asleep.  Adieu.  I  hope  we  shall  enjoy 
a  good  night's  rest. 

First  Day   Morn,   December  fth. 

I  trip'd  into  aunt's.  There  sat  the 
Major,  rather  more  like  himself.  How 
natural  it  was  to  see  him. 

"  Good  morning,   Miss  Sally." 

"  Good  morrow,  Major,  how  does  thee 
do  to-day  ?  " 

Major :  "  I   feel  quite  recover'd." 

Sally  :  "Well,  I  fancy  this  indisposition 
has  sav'd  thy  head  this  time." 

Major:  "No,  ma'am;  for  if  I  hear  a 
firing,1  I  shall  soon  be  with  them."  That 
was  heroic. 

About  eleven,  I  dress'd  myself,  silk 
and  cotton  gown.  It  is  made  without  an 
apron.  I  feel  quite  awkwardish,  and 
prefer  the  girlish  dress. 

1  Though  no  firing  seems  to  have  been  heard,  it  was  on  this  day 
that  two  severe  skirmishes  occurred  between  the  armies — one  on 
Edge  Hill,  near  Mooretown,  and  the  other  in  Cheltenham, 
probably  near  Shoemakertown.  There  were  a  number  killed,  and 
many  wounded. — H.  M.  J. 


n2  Journal   of          [Dec.  7 

First  Day  Afternoon. 

A  Mr.  Seaton1  and  Stodard  drank  tea 
with  us.  He  and  I  had  a  little  private 
chat  after  tea. 

In  the  eve,  Seaton  went  into  aunt's ; 
mamma  went  to  see  Prissa,  who  is  poorly  ; 
papa  withdrew  to  talk  to  some  strangers. 
Liddy  just  then  came  in,  so  we  engag'd  in 
an  agreeable  conversation. 

I  beg'd  him  to  come  and  give  us  a 
circumstantial  account  of  the  battle,  if 
there  should  be  one. 

"  I  certainly  will,  ma'am,  if  I  am 
favor'd  with  life." 

Liddy,  unluckily,  took  it  into  her  head 
to  blunder  out  something  about  a  person 
being  in  the  kitchen  who  had  come  from 
the  army. 

Stodard,  ever  anxious  to  hear,  jump'd 
up.  "  Good  night  to  you,  Ladies,"  was 
the  word,  and  he  disappeared,  but  not 
forever. 

1  ALEXANDER  SEATON,  of  Virginia,  was  appointed  Regimental 
Quartermaster  of  Grayson's  Additional  Continental  Regiment,  May 
24,  1 777,  and  resigned  December  zo,  of  the  same  year. — Heitman. 


1777]  Sally  Wister  113 

"  Liddy,  thee  hussy ;  what  business 
had  thee  to  mention  a  word  of  the  army  ? 
Thee  sees  it  sent  him  off.  Thy  evil 
genius  prevail'd,  and  we  all  feel  the  effects 
of  it." 

"  Lord  bless  me,"  said  Liddy,  "  I  had 
not  a  thought  of  his  going,  or  for  ten 
thousand  worlds  I  wou'd  not  have  spoke." 
But  we  cannot  recall  the  past. 

Well,  we  laugh'd  and  chatted  at  a  noisy 
rate,  till  a  summons  for  Liddy  parted  us. 
I  sat  negligently  on  my  chair,  and  thought 
brought  on  thought,  and  I  got  so  low 
spirited  that  I  cou'd  hardly  speak.  The 
dread  of  an  engagement,  the  dreadful 
situation  (if  a  battle  shou'd  ensue)  we 
should  be  in,  join'd  to  my  anxiety  for 
P.  Fishbourn  and  family,1  who  would  be 
in  the  midst  of  the  scene,  was  the  occasion. 

And  yet  I  did  not  feel  half  so  frightened 
as  I  expected  to  be.  'Tis  amazing  h 
we  get  reconciled  to  such  things.  Six 
months  ago  the  bare  idea  of  being  within 

1  The   FISHBOURNES,   as    mentioned  later  in  the  Journal,   were 
living  near  Whitemarsh. 


Journal   of          [Dec.  7 

ten,  aye  twenty  miles,  of  a  battle,  wou'd 
almost  have  distracted  me.  And  now, 
tho'  two  such  large  armies  are  within  six 
miles  of  us,  we  can  be  cheerful  and  con 
verse  calmly  of  it.  It  verifies  the  old 
proverb,  that  "  Use  is  second  nature." 
I  forgot  one  little  piece  of  intelligence, 
in  which  the  girls  say  I  discovered  a  par 
ticular  partiality  for  our  Marylanders,  but 
I  disclaim  anything  of  the  kind.  These 
saucy  creatures  are  forever  finding  out 
wonders,  and  forever  metamorphosing 
mole-hills  into  mountains. 

"  Friendship  I  offer,   pure  and  free  ; 
And  who,   with  such  a  friend  as  ME, 
Could  ask  or  wish  for  more  ?  " 

"If  they  charg'd  thee  with  vanity, 
Sally,  it  wou'd  not  be  very  unjust." 
Debby  Norris1  !  be  quiet  ;  no  reflections, 


NORRIS,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Mary  (Parker) 
Norris,  and  a  descendant  of  Isaac  Norris,  Governor  Thomas 
Lloyd,  and  other  leading  and  distinguished  men  of  the  Quaker 
governing  class,  was  born  Octo- 
ber  19,  1761,  in  the  Norris 
mansion,  on  the  site  of  the  present 
Custom  House,  at  Fifth  and  Chestnut  Streets,  Philadelphia.  Her 


1777]  Sally   Wister  115 

or  I  have  done.  "But  the  piece  of  intel 
ligence,  Sally!"  [It]  is  just  coming, 
Debby. 

In  the  afternoon  we  distinctly  heard 
platoon  firing.  Everybody  was  at  the 
door;  I  in  the  horrors.  The  armies,  as 
we  judg'd,  were  engag'd. 

Very  compos'dly  says  the  Major  to  our 
servant,  "Will  you  be  kind  enough  to 
saddle  my  horse?  I  shall  go!" 

father  having  died  when  she  was  four  years  of  age,  she  was 
carefully  brought  up  by  her  mother,  a  Quakeress  of  much 
refinement  and  culture.  She  received  her  education  at  Anthony 
Benezet's  School  for  Girls,  and  was  so  full  of  life  and  vivacity  that 
the  gentle  Benezet  was  often  perplexed  to  know  how  to  curb  the 
spirit  of  mischief  in  her ;  but  it  is  said  that  when  he  appealed  to 
her  sense  of  honor  he  never  failed  to  meet  with  a  response.  It 
was  at  school  that  she  met  Sally  Wister,  and  formed  that  warm 
friendship  of  which  we  have  evidence  in  their  writings.  After 
leaving  school  she  continued  her  studies  at  home,  forming  habits 
of  literary  occupation  that  endured  throughout  her  life,  and  made 
her  one  of  the  most  accomplished  and  gifted  women  of  the  period. 

She  was  about  fifteen  at  the  time  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  was  read  from  the  State  House  steps  in  the  adjoining 
square,  and  she  has  left  an  interesting  account  of  how  she  clambered 
upon  the  garden-fence  and  "distinctly  heard  the  words  of  that 
instrument  read  to  the  people." 

To  her  mother's  house  came  members  of  the  Continental 
Congress  and  other  important  personages,  and  the  duties  that  fell  to 
her  in  aiding  to  receive  these  distinguished  guests  gave  her  an 


n6  Journal   of          [Dec.  7 

Accordingly,  the  horse  was  taken  from 
the  hospitable  quiet  barn  to  plunge  into 
the  thickest  ranks  of  war.  Cruel  change! 

Seaton  insisted  to  the  Major  that  the 
armies  were  still;  "nothing  but  skirmish 
ing  with  the  flanking  parties;  do  not  go." 


admirable  training  for  the  high  social  position  that  she  occupied  in 
later  years. 

By  the  middle  of  the  Revolutionary  period,  as  we  learn  by  the 
chronicles  of  the  time,  she  had  developed  into  a  beautiful  and 
cultivated  woman.  Anna  Rawle,  of  Philadelphia,  afterwards  Mrs. 
John  Clifford,  in  her  diary,  under  date  of  February  2.8,  1781,  thus 
writes  of  her  :  "  The  widow  Norris  and  her  daughter  were  here 
to  tea.  The  latter  is  a  most  charming  girl  ;  for  the  united  charms 
of  mind  and  person  I  don't  know  such  another.  Doctor  Logan 
will  have  a  prize  in  her, — their  intended  marriage  will  much 
disappoint  one  of  the  same  profession,  by  what  I  have  heard." 

On  September  20,  1781,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  Deborah  Norris 
was  married  to  Dr.  George  Logan,  a  graduate  in  medicine  from 
the  University  of  Edinburgh,  in  1779,  and  but  recently  returned 
from  study  and  travel  in  Europe.  He  was  a  son  of  William  and 
Hannah  (Emlen)  Logan,  and  a  grandson  of  James  Logan,  the 
trusted  friend  and  agent  of  William  Penn,  and  sometime  Governcr 
of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  born  at  the  old  family  seat,  Stenton, 
near  Germantown,  September  9,  1753,  and  died  April  9,  1821. 
Soon  after  their  marriage  he  and  his  young  bride  took  up  their 
residence  at  Stenton,  and  made  that  their  home  during  the 
remainder  of  their  lives.  Dr.  Logan  engaged  in  farming  his  large 
estate,  and  also  took  a  prominent  part  in  political  affairs,  becoming 
a  leader  of  the  Anti-federal  Party,  and  serving  for  several  years  as 
Senator  from  Pennsylvania. 


1777]  Sally   Wister  117 

We  happened  (we  girls,  I  mean)  to  be 
standing  in  the  kitchen,  the  Maj.  passing 
thro'  in  a  hurry,  and  I,  forsooth,  discover'd 
a  strong  partiality  by  saying,  "Oh!  Major, 
thee  is  not  going!" 

He  turn'd  around,  "Yes,  I  am,  Miss 
Sally,"  bow'd,  and  went  into  the  road ; 
we  all  pitied  him. 


Of  these  early  years  of  Mrs.  Logan's  married  life  we  catch 
interesting  glimpses  in  the  letters  of  Susanna  Dillwyn,  of 
Burlington,  who  writes  to  her  father,  William  Dillwyn,  then  in 
London,  under  date  of  April  15,  1789  : 

"  Debby  Logan  is  generally  allow' d  to  be  a  very  fine  woman  as 
well  as  a  very  beautiful  one — I  have  not  seen  her  for  a  long  while 
past,  as  she  confines  her  whole  attention  to  her  family  and  seldom 
goes  abroad." 

Again,  a  few  months  later,  after  a  visit  to  the  Logans,  Miss 
Dillwyn  writes,  September  20,  1789  : 

"  Debby  Logan  is  acknowledged  by  every  one  who  sees  her, 
whether  they  have  been  used  only  to  the  women  of  our  land,  or 
the  more  highly-polished  Europeans,  to  be  one  of  the  most 
compleatly  beautiful  and  elegant  women  they  have  ever  seen.  She 
delighted  me,  I  confess,  so  much  that  when  we  came  away  I 
could  not  find  words  to  express  the  rapture  with  which  I  gazed  at 
her." 

Here,  at  the  picturesque  and  dignified  old  mansion  of  Stenton, 
the  elegant  and  cultivated  Mrs.  Logan  drew  around  her  the  most 
eminent  and  illustrious  men  and  women  of  the  then  leading  city  of 
the  young  republic.  Among  these  visitors  were  John  Dickinson  j 
John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke ;  Timothy  Pickering ;  the  learned 


n8  Journal   of          [Dec.  s 

The  firing  rather  decreased;  and  after 
persuasions  innumerable  from  my  father 
and  Seaton,  and  the  firing  over,  he 
reluctantly  agreed  to  stay.  Ill  as  he  was, 
he  would  have  gone.  It  show'd  his 
bravery,  of  which  we  all  believe  him 
possess'd  of  a  large  share. 

Second  Day,   December  8tb. 

Rejoice  with  us,  my  dear.  The  British 
have  return'd  to  the  city.  Charming 

and  witty  Portuguese,  Abbe  Correa  j  Kosciusko  j  the  French 
minister,  Genet ;  Dr.  Franklin  ;  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  President 
Washington. 

She  was  deeply  interested  in,  and  had  a  special  knowledge  of, 
the  history  of  Pennsylvania  ;  and  it  is  to  her  careful  collation  and 
preservation  of  the  great  collection  of  Penn  and  Logan  manuscripts 
that  she  found  in  the  garret  at  Stenton,  and  to  her  memoranda  and 
reminiscences  of  persons  and  events,  that  we  owe  much  of  our 
knowledge  of  Colonial  history.  Two  volumes  of  the  "  Penn  and 
Logan  Correspondence,"  with  her  annotations,  and  one  volume, 
her  "Memoir  of  Dr.  George  Logan,"  have  been  published  by 
the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 

Her  death  occurred  February  a,  1839,  at  Stenton,  where  she 
was  interred  beside  her  husband  in  the  family  burial  ground.  In 
the  words  of  her  biographer,  Mrs.  Wister,  in  "  Worthy  Women 
of  Our  First  Century,"  "  Her  memory  lives  on  as  a  tradition  of 
charm  and  worth,  a  lovely  impersonation  of  female  excellence,  a 
lady  of  the  old  school,  a  pure,  ideal  Quakeress." 


1777]  Sally   Wister  119 

news  this.1  May  we  ever  be  thankful  to 
the  Almighty  Disposer  of  events  for  his 
care  and  protection  of  us  while  surrounded 
with  dangers. 

Major  went  to  the  army.  Nothing  for 
him  to  do ;  so  returned. 

Third-  or  Fourth-day,  I  forget  which, 
he  was  very  ill ;  kept  his  chamber  most 
of  the  day.  In  the  evening  I  saw  him. 
He  has  a  violent  sore  mouth.  I  pity  him 
mightily,  but  pity  is  a  poor  remedy. 

Fifth   Day,    December  ntb. 

Our  Army  mov'd,  as  we  thought,  to 
go  into  winter  quarters,2  but  we  hear  there 

1  They    reached    Philadelphia    on    the    evening    of    this    day, 
plundering    the    farms    between    Edge    Hill    and  the  city  as  they 
marched  in. — H.  M.  J. 

2  Early  in  the  morning  of  this  day,  nth  December,  the  camp  at 
Whitemarsh    was    broken    up,     and      the     Americans     marched 
(doubtless     up     the     Skippack     road     to     Broadaxe,    and    thence 
westward)   to  the  ferry  at  Matson's    Ford — now  Conshohocken. 
The  weather  was  cold,  no  snow  had  fallen,  the  roads  were  frozen, 
and  those  of  the  men  who  were  barefoot  left  such  crimson  marks 
on  the  ground,   that  afterward  Washington    made   the    statement 
which  has  passed  into  history  :      '*  You  might  have  tracked  the 
army  from  Whitemarsh    to  Valley  Forge  by  the    blood  of  their 
feet."— H.  M.  J. 


120  Journal   of        [Dec.  n 

is  a  party  of  the  enemy  gone  over  Schuyl- 
kill ;  so  our  Army  went  to  look  at  them.1 

I  observed  to  Stodard,  "  So  you  are 
going  to  leave  us  to  the  English." 

"  Yes,  ha !  ha !  ha !  leave  you  for  the 
English." 

He  has  a  certain  indifference  about  him 
sometimes  that  to  strangers  is  not  very 
pleasing.  He  sometimes  is  silent  for 
minutes.  One  of  these  silent  fits  was 
interrupted  the  other  day  by  his  clasping 
his  hands  and  exclaiming  aloud,  "  Oh,  my 
God,  I  wish  this  war  was  at  an  end !  " 

Noon. 

The  Major  gone  to  camp.  I  don't 
think  we  shall  see  him  again. 

Well,  strange  creature  that  I  am  ;  here 
have  I  been  going  on  without  giving  thee 
an  account  of  two  officers, — one  who  will 


1  This  was  a  force  under  Cornwallis,  3,000  strong,  that  had 
gone  out  to  collect  food  and  forage  in  the  Merions,  and  which,  as 
unexpectedly  to  themselves  as  to  the  Americans,  encountered 
Sullivan,  at  the  head  of  the  latter  column,  at  the  ford.  There 
was  no  battle,  however. — H.  M.  J. 


1777]  Sally   Wister  121 

be  a  principal  character ;  their  names  are 
Capt.  Lipscomb1  and  a  Mr.  Tilly2; 
the  former  a  tall,  genteel  man,  very 
delicate  from  indisposition,  and  has  a  soft 
ness  in  his  countenance  that  is  very 
pleasing,  and  has  the  finest  head  of  hair 
that  I  ever  saw ;  'tis  a  light,  shining 


1  REUBEN  LIPSCOMB,  of  Virginia,  became  First-Lieutenant  of  the 
Seventh  Virginia  Regiment,    February  2,6th,    1776,  and  Captain, 
November  z8th,   of  the  same  year.      He  was  transferred  to  the 

Fifth  Virginia,   Septem- 
ber  14,  1778,  and  died 

°ctober  3d  followins-- 

Journal  Va.  House  of 
Delegates,  Doc.  No. 
8 1  (Richmond,  1833)  ;  Heitman. —  Under  date  of  January  4, 
1780,  Miss  Wister  thus  comments  on  the  deaths  of  Captains 
Smallwood  and  Lipscomb  : 

"The  mild  Capt.  Smallwood  and  amiable  Lipscomb  are  no 
longer  inhabitants  of  this  terrestial  world.  Snatch'd  in  the  bloom 
of  youth  by  unrelenting  death  from  all  earthly  connexions.  I 
experienced  a  good  deal  of  pleasure  in  the  transient  acquaintance  I 
had  with  these  young  men — but  they  are  no  more.  I  felt  sorry 
when  I  heard  of  their  deaths  ;  yet,  why  lament  a  fate  ? — 

By  thousands  envied,  and  by  heaven  approv'd 

Rare  is  the  boon  to  those  of  longer  date 

To  live,  to  die,  esteem'd,  admir'd,  belov'd." 

2  ROBERT    TILLY,    of  Virginia,    was    appointed   Paymaster    of 
Grayson's  Additional  Continental  Regiment,  April  15,  1777.      He 
resigned  from  the  army  August  31,  1778. — Heitman. 


122  Journal     Of  [Dec.  u 

auburn.  The  fashion  of  his  hair  was 
this — negligently  ty'd  and  waving  down 
his  back.  Well  may  it  be  said, — 

"Loose  flow'd  the  soft  redundance  of  his  hair." 

He  has  not  hitherto  shown  himself  a 
lady's  man,  tho'  he  is  perfectly  polite. 

Now  let  me  attempt  to  characterize 
Tilly.  He  seems  a  wild,  noisy  mortal, 
tho'  I  am  not  much  acquainted  with  him. 
He  appears  bashful  when  with  girls.  We 
dissipated  the  Major's  bashfulness ;  but 
I  doubt  we  have  not  so  good  a  subject 
now.  He  is  above  the  common  size, 
rather  genteel,  an  extreme  pretty,  ruddy 
face,  hair  brown,  and  a  sufficiency  of  it, 
a  very  great  laugher,  and  talks  so  excess 
ively  fast  that  he  often  begins  sentences 
without  finishing  the  last,  which  confuses 
him  very  much,  and  then  he  blushes  and 
laughs ;  and  in  short,  he  keeps  me  in 
perpetual  good  humour ;  but  the  creature 
has  not  address'd  one  civil  thing  to  me 
since  he  came. 

But  I   have  not  done  with  his  accom- 


1777]  Sally   Wister  123 

plishments  yet,  for  he  is  a  musician, — that 
is,  he  plays  on  the  German  flute,  and  has 
it  here. 


Fifth  Day  Night. 

The  family  retir'd  ;  take  the  adventures 
of  the  afternoon  as  they  occurr'd. 

Seaton  and  Capt.  Lipscomb  drank  tea 
with  us.  While  we  sat  at  tea,  the  parlour 
door  was  open'd ;  in  came  Tilly ;  his 
appearance  was  elegant ;  he  had  been 
riding;  the  wind  had  given  the  most 
beautiful  glow  to  his  cheeks,  and  blow'd 
his  hair  carelessly  round  his  face. 

Oh,  my  heart,   thought  I,  be  secure ! 

The  caution  was  needless,  I  found  it 
without  a  wish  to  stray. 

When  the  tea  equipage  was  remov'd, 
the  conversation  turned  on  politicks,  a 
subject  I  avoid.  I  gave  Betsy  a  hint. 
I  rose,  she  followed,  and  we  went  to  seek 
Liddy. 

We  chatted  a  few  moments  at  the 
door.  The  moon  shone  with  uncommon 


124  Journal   of        [Dec.  n 

splendour.  Our  spirits  were  high.  I  pro- 
pos'd  a  walk ;  the  girls  agreed.  When 
we  reached  the  poplar  tree,  we  stopp'd. 
Our  ears  were  assail'd  by  a  number  of 
voices. 

"  A  party  of  light  horse,"  said  one. 

"  The  English,  perhaps  ;  let's  run 
home." 

"No,  no,"  said  I,  "be  heroines." 

At  last  two  or  three  men  on  horseback 
came  in  sight.  We  walked  on.  The 
well-known  voice  of  the  Major  saluted 
our  hearing  with,  "  How  do  you  do, 
ladies?" 

We  turn'd  ourselves  about  with  one 
accord.  He,  not  relishing  the  idea  of 
sleeping  on  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill, 
had  return'd  to  the  Mill. 

We  chatted  along  the  road  till  we 
reach'd  our  hospitable  mansion.  Stodard 
dismounted,  and  went  into  Jesse's  parlour. 
I  sat  there  a  half  hour.  He  is  very 
amiable. 

Seaton,  Lipscomb,  Tilly,  and  my  father, 
hearing  of  his  return,  and  impatient  for 


1777]  Sally   Wister  125 

the  news,  came  in  at  one  door,  while  I 
made  my  exit  at  the  other. 

I  am  vex'd  at  Tilly,  who  has  his  flute, 
and  does  nothing  but  play  the  fool.  He 
begins  a  tune,  plays  a  note  or  so,  then 
stops.  Well,  after  a  while,  he  begins 
again ;  stops  again.  "  Will  that  do, 
Seaton?  Hah!  hah!  hah!" 

He  has  given  us  but  two  regular  tunes 
since  he  arriv'd.  I  am  passionately  fond 
of  music.  How  boyish  he  behaves. 


Sixth  day,   December  I2th, 

I  ran  into  aunt's  this  morn  to  chat 
with  the  girls.  Major  Stodard  join'd  us 
in  a  few  minutes. 

I  verily  believe  the  man  is  fond  of  the 
ladies,  and,  what  to  me  is  astonishing,  he 
has  not  discovered  the  smallest  degree  of 
pride.  Whether  he  is  artful  enough  to 
conceal  it  under  the  veil  of  humility,  or 
whether  he  has  none,  is  a  question  ;  but 
I  am  inclined  to  think  it  the  latter. 

I  really  am  of  opinion  that  there  are 


126  Journal   of         [Dec.  12 

few  of  the  young  fellows  of  the  modern 
age  exempt  from  vanity,  more  especially 
those  who  are  bless'd  with  exterior  graces. 
If  they  have  a  fine  pair  of  eyes  they  are 
ever  rolling  them  about ;  a  fine  set  of 
teeth,  mind,  they  are  great  laughers ;  a 
genteel  person,  forever  changing  their 
attitudes  to  show  them  to  advantage. 
Oh,  vanity,  vanity ;  how  boundless  is  thy 
sway  ! 

But  to  resume  this  interview  with 
Major  Stodard.  We  were  very  witty  and 
sprightly.  I  was  darning  an  apron,  upon 
which  he  was  pleas'd  to  compliment  me. 

"  Well,  Miss  Sally,  what  would  you  do 
if  the  British  were  to  come  here  ?  " 

"  Do,"  exclaimed  I  ;  "be  frightened 
just  to  death." 

He  laugh'd,  and  said  he  would  escape 
their  rage  by  getting  behind  the  rep 
resentation  of  a  British  grenadier  which 
you  have  upstairs.  "Of  all  things,  I 
should  like  to  frighten  Tilly  with  it. 
Pray,  ladies,  let's  fix  it  in  his  chamber 
to-night." 


The  "  Other  Figure 


1777]          Sally  Wister  127 

"If  thee  will  take  all  the  blame,  we 
will  assist  thee." 

"  That  I  will,"  he  replied,  and  this  was 
the  plan. 

We  had  brought  some  weeks  ago  a 
British  grenadier  from  Uncle  Miles's  on 
purpose  to  divert  us.  It  is  remarkably 
well  executed,  six  foot  high,  and  makes  a 
martial  appearance.  This  we  agreed  to 
stand  at  the  door  that  opens  into  the  road 
(the  house  has  four  rooms  on  a  floor,  with 
a  wide  entry  running  through),  with 
another  figure  that  would  add  to  the 
deceit.  One  of  our  servants  was  to  stand 
behind  them,  others  were  to  serve  as 
occasion  offer'd. 

After  half  an  hour's  converse,  in  which 
we  rais'd  our  expectations  to  the  highest 
pitch,  we  parted.  If  our  scheme  answers, 
I  shall  communicate  in  the  eve.  Till 
then,  adieu.  'Tis  dining  hour. 

Sixth  Day  Night. 

Never  did  I  more  sincerely  wish  to  pos 
sess  a  descriptive  genius  than  I  do  now. 


128  Journal   of        [Dec.  12 

All  that  I  can  write  will  fall  infinitely 
short  of  the  truly  diverting  scene  that 
I  have  been  witness  to  to-night.  But,  as 
I  mean  to  attempt  an  account,  I  had  as 
well  shorten  the  preface,  and  begin  the 
story. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  evens  I  went 
to  Liddy  and  beg'd  her  to  secure  the 
swords  and  pistols  which  were  in  their 
parlour.  The  Marylander,  hearing  our 
voices,  joined  us.  I  told  him  of  my 
proposal.  Whether  he  thought  it  a  good 
one  or  not  I  can't  say,  but  he  approved 
of  it,  and  Liddy  went  in  and  brought  her 
apron  full  of  swords  &  pistols. 

When  this  was  done,  Stodard  join'd  the 
officers.  We  girls  went  and  stood  at  the 
first  landing  of  the  stairs.  The  gentlemen 
were  very  merry  and  chatting  on  public 
affairs,  when  Seaton's  negro  (observe  that 
Seaton,  being  indisposed,  was  appriz'd  of 
the  scheme)  open'd  the  door,  candle  in  his 
hand,  and  said,  "  There's  somebody  at  the 
door  that  wishes  to  see  you/' 

"  Who  ?  All  of  us  ?  "  said  Tilly. 


1777]          Sally   Wister  129 

"  Yes,  sir,"  answer'd  the  boy. 

They  all  rose  (the  Major,  as  he  after 
wards  said,  almost  dying  with  laughing), 
and  walk'd  in  to  the  entry,  Tilly  first,  in 
full  expectation  of  news. 

The  first  object  that  struck  his  view 
was  a  British  soldier.  In  a  moment  his 
ears  were  saluted  with,  "Is  there  any  rebel 
officers  here  ?  "  in  a  thundering  voice. 

Not  waiting  for  a  second  word,  he 
darted  like  lightning  out  at  the  front 
door,  through  the  yard,  bolted  o'er  the 
fence.  Swamps,  fences,  thorn  -  hedges,1 
and  ploughed  fields  no  way  impeded  his 
retreat.  He  was  soon  out  of  hearing. 

The  woods  echoed  with,  "  Which  way 
did  he  go  ?  Stop  him !  Surround  the 
house  !  "  The  amiable  Lipscomb  had  his 
hand  on  the  latch  of  the  door,  intending 
to  attempt  his  escape ;  Stodard,  consider 
ing  his  indisposition,  acquainted  him  with 
the  deceit. 


1  This  fixes  the  fact  that  the  thorn-hedges  which  for  many  years 
divided  a  number  of  fields  and  farms  about  Penllyn  had  been 
planted  before  the  Revolution. — H.  M.  J. 


i3°  Journal   of         [Dec.  i?. 

We  females  ran  down  stairs  to  join  in 
the  general  laugh.  I  walked  into  Jesse's 
parlour.  There  sat  poor  Stodard  (whose 
sore  lips  must  have  receiv'd  no  advantage 
from  this),  almost  convuls'd  with  laughing, 
rolling  in  an  arm-chair.  He  said  nothing; 
I  believe  he  could  not  have  spoke. 

"Major  Stodard,"  said  I,  "go  call 
Tilly  back.  He  will  lose  himself, — 
indeed  he  will ;  "  every  word  interrupted 
with  a  "  Ha  !  ha  !  " 

At  last  he  rose,  and  went  to  the  door, 
and  what  a  loud  voice  could  avail  in 
bringing  him  back,  he  tried. 

Figure  to  thyself  this  Tilly,  of  a  snowy 
evens,  no  hat,  shoes  down  at  heel,  hair 
unty'd,  flying  across  meadows,  creeks  and 
mud-holes.  Flying  from  what  ?  Why, 
a  bit  of  painted  wood.  But  he  was 
ignorant  of  what  it  was.  The  idea  of 
being  made  a  prisoner  wholly  engrossed 
his  mind,  and  his  last  resource  was  to  run. 

After  a  while,  we  being  in  rather  more 
composure,  and  our  bursts  of  laughter  less 
frequent,  yet  by  no  means  subsided, — in 


1777]  Sally   Wister  131 

full  assembly  of  girls  and  officers, — Tilly 
enter'd. 

The  greatest  part  of  my  risibility 
turn'd  to  pity.  Inexpressible  confusion 
had  taken  entire  possession  of  his  coun 
tenance,  his  fine  hair  hanging  dishevell'd 
down  his  shoulders,  all  splashed  with 
mud ;  yet  his  fright,  confusion  and  race 
had  not  divested  him  of  his  beauty. 

He  smil'd  as  he  trip'd  up  the  steps  ; 
but  'twas  vexation  plac'd  it  on  his  features. 
Joy  at  that  moment  was  banished  from 
his  heart.  He  briskly  walked  five  or  six 
steps,  then  stopt,  and  took  a  general  sur 
vey  of  us  all. 

"Where  have  you  been,  Mr.  Tilly?" 
ask'd  one  officer.  (We  girls  were  silent.) 

"I  really  imagin'd,"  said  Stodard,  " that 
you  were  gone  for  your  pistols.  I  fol- 
low'd  you  to  prevent  danger," — an  excess 
ive  laugh  at  each  question,  which  it  was 
impossible  to  restrain. 

"  Pray,  where  were  your  pistols,  Tilly?" 

He  broke  his  silence  by  the  following 
expression :  "  You  may  all  go  to  the 


132  Journal   of        [Dec.  13 

D 1."  I  never  heard  him  utter  an 

indecent  expression  before. 

At  last  his  good  nature  gain'd  a  corn- 
pleat  ascendance  over  his  anger,  and  he 
join'd  heartily  in  the  laugh.  I  will  do  him 
the  justice  to  say  that  he  bore  it  charm 
ingly.  No  cowardly  threats,  no  vengeance 
denounced. 

Stodard  caught  hold  of  his  coat. 
"  Come,  look  at  what  you  ran  from,"  and 
drag'd  him  to  the  door. 

He  gave  it  a  look,  said  it  was  very 
natural,  and,  by  the  singularity  of  his 
expressions,  gave  fresh  cause  for  diversion. 
We  all  retir'd  to  our  different  parlours, 
for  to  rest  our  faces,  if  I  may  say  so. 

Well,  certainly,  these  military  folks  will 
laugh  all  night.  Such  screaming  I  never 
did  hear.  Adieu  to-night. 

Seventh-day   Morn,   December  ijth. 

I  am  fearful  they  will  yet  carry  the  joke 
too  far.  Tilly  certainly  possesses  an  un 
common  share  of  good  nature,  or  he 
could  not  tolerate  these  frequent  teasings. 


1777]  Sally   Wister  133 

Ah,  Deborah,  the  Major  is  going  to 
leave  us  entirely — just  going.  I  will  see 
him  first. 

Seventh  Day  Noon. 

He  has  gone.  I  saw  him  pass  the 
bridge.  The  woods,  which  you  enter 
immediately  after  crossing  it,  hinder'd  us 
from  following  him  farther.  I  seem  to 
fancy  he  will  return  in  the  evens. 

Seventh  Day  Night. 

Stodard  not  come  back.  We  shall  not, 
I  fancy,  see  him  again  for  months,  per 
haps  years,  unless  he  should  visit  Philad*. 
We  shall  miss  his  agreeable  company. 

But  what  shall  we  make  of  Tilly  ?  No 
civil  things  yet  from  him.  Adieu  to-night, 
my  dear. 

First  Day   Morn,   December  i^th. 

The  officers  yet  here.  No  talk  of  their 
departure.  They  are  very  lively.  Tilly's 
retreat  the  occasion ;  the  principal  one, 
however  [at  least]. 


134  Journal   of         [Dec.  H 

First   Day   Night. 

Capt.  Lipscomb,  Seaton,  and  Tilly, 
with  cousin  Hannah  Miles,1  din'd  with  us 
to-day.  Hannah's  health  seems  estab- 
lish'd,  to  our  great  joy. 

Such  an  everlasting  laugher  as  Tilly  I 
never  knew.  He  caus'd  us  a  good  deal 
of  diversion  while  we  sat  at  table.  He 
has  not  said  a  syllable  to  one  of  us  young 
ladies  since  Sixth-day  eve.  He  tells 
Lipscomb  that  the  Major  had  the  assist 
ance  of  the  ladies  in  the  execution  of  the 
scheme.  He  tells  a  truth. 

About  four  o'clock  I  was  standing  at 
the  door,  leaning  my  head  on  my  hand, 
when  a  genteel  officer  rode  up  to  the  gate 
and  dismounted.  "Your  servant,  ma'am," 
and  gave  me  the  compliment  of  his  hat. 
Walk'd  into  aunt's. 

I  went  into  our  parlour.  Soon  Seaton 
was  call'd.  Many  minutes  had  not 

1  HANNAH  MILES,  daughter  of  Colonel  Samuel  Miles.  She- 
married  Joseph  B.  McKean,  eldest  son  of  Thomas  McKean, 
Governor  of  Pennsylvania  and  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence. 


1777]  Sally   Wister  135 

elapsed  before  he  entered  with  the  same 
young  fellow  whom  I  had  just  seen.  He 
introduced  him  by  the  name  of  Capt. 
Smallwood.1  We  seated  ourselves.  I 
then  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  him. 
He  is  a  brother  to  Gen'l  Smallwood. 
A  very  genteel,  pretty  little  fellow,  very 
modest,  and  seems  agreeable,  but  no 
personal  resemblance  between  him  and 
the  Major. 

After  tea,  turning  to  Tilly,  he  said, 
"  So,  sir,  I  have  heard  you  had  like  to 
have    been    made    a   prisoner  last  Friday 
night !  " 

"  Pray,  sir,  who  informed  you  ?  " 
"  Major  Stodard  was  my  author." 
"  I    fancy    he    made   a   fine   tale  of  it. 
How  far  did  he  say  I  ran  ?  " 

"  Two    mile ;    and    that    you    fell    into 
the  mill-dam  !  " 


1  HEABARD  SMALLWOOD,  son  of  Bayne  Smallwood,  and  brother 
of  General  William  Smallwood,  was  made  Captain  of  Grayson's 
Additional  Continental  Regiment,  March  4,  1777.  He  resigned 
from  the  army,  October  6,  1778,  and  died  soon  after.  (Heitman.) 
See  Sally  Wister's  remarks  upon  his  death,  page  121. 


136  Journal  of        [Dec.  14 

He  rais'd  his  eyes  and  hands,  and 
exclaimed,  "What  a  confounded  false 
hood!" 

The   whole    affair   was    again    reviv'd. 

Our  Tillian  Hero  gave  a  mighty  droll 
account  of  his  retreat,  as  they  call  it. 
He  told  us  that  after  he  had  got  behind 
our  kitchen  he  stop'd  for  company,  as  he 
expected  the  others  wou'd  immediately 
follow.  "  But  I  heard  them  scream, 
'  Which  way  did  he  go  ?  Where  is  he  ? ' 
*  Aye/  said  I,  to  myself,  c  he  is  gone 
where  you  shan't  catch  him/  and  off  I  set 
again." 

"  Pray,"  ask'd  mamma,  "  did  thee  keep 
that  lane  between  the  meadows  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  ma'am  ;  that  was  a  large  road, 
and  I  might  happen  to  meet  some  of 
them.  When  I  reach'd  yon  thorn  hedge, 
I  again  stop'd.  As  it  was  a  cold  night, 
I  thought  I  would  pull  up  my  shoe  heels, 
and  tye  my  handkerchief  round  my  head. 
I  then  began  to  have  a  suspicion  of  a 
trick,  and,  hearing  the  Major  hollow,  I 
came  back." 


Tilly  and   ''The  British  Grenadier."  —  I. 

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Tilly  and   <;  The    British  Grenadier."— II. 


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1777]          Sally  Wister  137 

I  think  I  did  not  laugh  more  at  the 
very  time  than  to-night  at  the  rehearsal 
of  it.  He  is  so  good-natured,  and  takes 
all  their  jokes  with  so  good  a  grace,  that 
I  am  quite  charm'd  with  him.  He  laugh 
ingly  denounces  vengeance  against  Stod- 
ard.  He  will  be  even  with  him.  He  is 
in  the  Major's  debt,  but  he  will  pay  him. 

Second-day  Even*,   December  l$th. 
Smallwood   has   taken  up   his  quarters 
with  us.       Nothing  worth  relating  occur'd 
to-day 

3d,  jib  and  Fifth-day. 

We  chatted  a  little  with  the  officers. 
Smallwood  not  so  chatty  as  his  brother  or 
nephew.  Lipscomb  is  very  agreeable ;  a 
delightful  musical  voice. 

Sixth-day  Noon,   Dec.  igtb. 
The  officers,  after  the  politest   adieus, 
have  left  us.     Smallwood    and  Tilly  are 
going    to    Maryland,1   where    they   live ; 

1  General  Smallwood' s  brigade  passed  the  winter  at  Wilmington. 


138  Journal   of         [Dec.  20 

Seaton  to  Virginia ;  and  Lipscomb  to 
Camp,  to  join  his  regiment.  I  feel  sorry 
at  their  departure,  yet  'tis  a  different  kind 
from  what  I  felt  some  time  since.  We 
had  not  contracted  so  great  an  intimacy 
with  those  last. 


Seventh-day,   December  2Otb. 

General  Washington's  army  have 
gone  into  winter  quarters  at  the  Valley 
Forge.1 

We  shall  not  see  many  of  the  military 
now.  We  shall  be  very  intimate  with 
solitude.  I  am  afraid  stupidity  will  be  a 
frequent  guest. 

After  so  much  company,  I  can't  relish 
the  idea  of  sequestration. 

First-day  Night. 

A  dull  round  of  the  same  thing  over 
again.  I  shall  hang  up  my  pen  till 
something  offers  worth  relating. 

1  The  Army  marched  to  Valley  Forge  on  the   I9th  of  Decem 
ber,  1777. 


1778]  Sally   Wister  139 

February  Third  or  Fourth,  I  for  \get  which  ?~\ 
I  thought  I  shou'd  never  have  anything 
to  say  again.  Nothing  happen'd  all 
January  that  was  uncommon.  Capt. 
Lipscomb  and  Mos  (?) l  stay'd  one  night 
at  Jesse's ;  sup'd  with  us.  How  elegant 
the  former  was  dres'd  and  how  pretty  he 
look'd. 


Indeed  I  have  forgot  to  keep  an  exact 
account  of  the  day  of  the  month  in  which 
I  went  down  to  George  Emlen's  with 
P.  Fishbourn,  but  it  was  the  2jd  or  24th 
of  February  (?).2  After  enjoying  a  week  of 
her  agreeable  company  at  the  Mill,  I 

1  This  name  is  difficult  to    decipher,   but    it  is  probably   Moss. 
One  Henry  Moss,  of  Virginia,  was  appointed  Second-Lieutenant  of 
the  Second  Virginia  Regiment,  January  13,  1777  ;  First-Lieutenant, 
July  u,  1777.      He  was  taken  prisoner  at  Charleston,   May  12, 
1780,  and  was  exchanged  in  April,  1781.      In  1781  he  was  raised 
to   the   rank   of    captain,    and  served  to  the  end  of    the   war. — 
Heitman. 

2  The  name  of  the  month  is  not  decipherable  with  any  certainty. 
It  might  be  taken  to  be   "January,"   but  this  is  even  harder  to 
reconcile  with  the  other  dates  than  the  reading  given  in  the  text. 


140  Journal  of          [Feb. 

returned  with  her  to  Whitemarsh.  We 
went  on  horseback,  the  roads  bad.  We 
however  surmounted  this  difficulty,  and 
arrived  there  safe. 

Frd.  Fishbourn1  and  P.  Talman2  were 


1  MARY   FISHBOURNE,  widow  of  William  Fishbourne.     She  was 
a  daughter  either  of  Benjamin  Talman,  of  Mansfield,  New  Jersey, 
or  of  James  Talman,   of  Shrewsbury,   New   Jersey,  probably  the 
former.      She  was  born  about  1726,  and  died  October  9,  1781,  in 
her  55th  year.       The  Pennsylvania  Gazette  says  of  her  :   "  In  her 
social  character  she  was  a  kind  neighbour  and  a  warm  friend.       In 
her  political  one  she  bore  a  steady  and  zealous  regard  to  the  rights 
of  her  country." 

She  was  married  November  8,  1749,  probably  at  Chesterfield 
Meeting,  New  Jersey,  to  William  Fishbourne,  of  Philadelphia, 
son  of  William  and  Hannah  (Carpenter)  Fishbourne.  He  was 
born  December  2,  1715,  and  died  September  6,  1777.  Thejr 
had  the  following  children:  I.  Elizabeth,  b.  Sept.,  1752,  d., 
Phila.,  April  24,  1826,  m.,  Dec.  7,  1774,  Thomas  Wharton, 
Jr.,  President  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  (acting  Governor 
of  Penna.),  b.  1735,  died  at  Lancaster,  Pa.,  May  22,  1778; 
II.  Hannah  ;  III.  Sarah,  m.  George  Emlen  j  IV.  Benjamin,  b. 
Jan.  4,  1759,  rn.  Anne  Ware  j  V.  Mary,  m.  Dr.  Samuel  Powell 
Griffitts;  VI.  Thomas}  VII.  William.—  Hildeburn  MSS.t  Hist. 
Soc.  Pa. 

2  This  was  probably  a  kinswoman,  Polly  Talman.      In  a  letter  to 
Sally    Wister,     dated     Philadelphia,     September   4,    1795,    Polly 
(Fishbourne)  Griffitts  writes  that  "  Cousin  Polly  T.  is  in  Jersey." 
One    Mary  Talman,    of    Phila.,    who  made    her  will    in    1804, 
appointed    her    cousins,    Thomas    F.    and     Fishbourne    Wharton, 
executors. 


Sally  Wister 


there.  It  gave  me  great  pleasure  to  see 
people  whom  I  esteem  after  so  very  long 
an  absence.  We  spent  an  agreeable  after 
noon.  In  the  evens  Frd.  F.  and  P.  T. 
return'd  to  their  home  about  a  mile  or 

two  distant. 

Second-day  Eve. 

G.  E.  brought  us  a  charming  collection 
of  books,  —  "Joe  Andrews,"1  "Juliet 
Grenville,"2  and  some  Lady  s  Magazines? 
P.  T.  sent  us  "  Caroline  Melmoth."4 

Third-day,   February  25th. 
Rose  between    eight   and    nine,  break 
fasted,  read  &  worked  by  turns,  chatted 
agreeably.      I  think  Sally  Emlen    is    one 

1  "  The  History  of  the  Adventures  of  Joseph  Andrews  and  his 
friend  Mr.  Abraham  Adams,"  Henry  Fielding's  famous  novel,  is 
a  typical  specimen  of  the  racy  literature  of  that  day. 

s"  Juliet  Grenville;  or,  the  history  of  the  human  heart,"  a 
novel,  by  Henry  Brooke,  London,  1774.  3  vols.  Reprinted  in 
Philadelphia  the  same  year  in  2  vols. 

3  '*  The  Lady's  Maga-zJne  ,•   or,   Entertaining  Companion  for  the 
Fair   Sex,    Appropriated    solely   to    their    Use    and   Amusement  " 
11  London  :    Printed    for    G.    Robinson.          N°   25    Pater-noster 
Row."      First  published  in  1  742. 

4  "  Miss  Melmoth  j  or,  the  new  Clarissa,"  is  evidently  the  title 
intended. 


142  Journal   of         [Feb.  26 

of  the  most  beautiful  women  I  ever  saw, 
agreeable,  affable,  sensible  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  words.  Her  conversation  is 
so  very  lively  and  diverting  that  were  her 
personal  attractions  less  than  they  are  she 
cou'd  not  fail  of  being  belov'd.  She  has 
one  lovely  daughter. 

Third-day   Even. 

This  day  Mrs.  and  Miss  West  visited 
here.  I  did  not  feel  in  a  humour  capable 
of  entertaining  or  being  entertain'd,  so  I 
sat  very  still.  Spent  the  eve  in  reading 
and  chatting  of  the  past,  present  and 
future. 

We  talk  of  going  to  frd.  Fishbourn's 
to-morrow. 

Fourth-day,   26tb. 

I  thought  this  morn  that  our  scheme  of 
going  to  Fr'd  F.  was  entirely  frustrated, 
as  S.  Emlen  was  much  indispos'd  with  the 
headache.  About  twelve  she  got  better. 
We  made  some  alterations  in  our  dress, 
step'd  into  the  carriage,  and  rode  off. 
Spent  a  most  delightful  day. 


Mrs.  George   Emlen 


1778]  Sally   Wister  143 

As  we  approach'd  the  house,  on  our 
return,  we  perceiv'd  several  strangers  in 
the  parlour.  Folly's  face  and  mine 
brighten M  up  at  the  discovery.  We 
alighted.  Polly  swung  open  the  door, 
and  introduc'd  me  to  Major  Jameson  l  & 
Capt.  Howard,  both  of  the  dragoons, 
the  former  from  Virginia,  the  latter  a 
Mary  lander. 

We  all  seem'd  in  the  penseroso  style 
till  after  supper.  We  then  began  to  be 
rather  more  sociable.  About  ten  they  bid 
us  adieu. 

I  dare  say  thee  is  impatient  to  know 
my  sentiments  of  the  swains.  Howard 
has  very  few  external  charms  ;  indeed,  I 


'JOHN  JAMESON,  of  Culpepper  County,  Virginia,  was  rrudt 
Captain  in  the  First  Regiment  of  Virginia  Light  Dragoons, 
June  l6th,  1776;  Major,  March  Jist,  1777.  After  the 


±/0  'A^v       W/«- 


Revolution  he  served  for  many  years  as  clerk  of  Culpepper 
County.— Bland  MSS.,  Cong.  Lib.,  Wash.  ;  Rev.  MSS.,  Stare 
Lib.,  Richmond;  Cal.  State  Papers,  Va.,  IV.,  VI. 


144  Journal     of  [March  i 

cannot  name  one.  As  to  his  internal 
ones,  I  am  not  a  judge.  Jameson  is  tall 
and  manly,  a  comely  face,  dark  eyes  and 
hair.  Seems  to  be  much  of  a  gentleman. 
No  ways  deficient  in  point  of  sense,  or,  at 
least,  in  the  course  of  the  evens,  I 
discovered  none. 

Fifth-  and  Sixth-day,  and  yth-day  pass'd 
away  very  agreeably.  No  strangers. 

First-day  Eve. 

This  morn  my  charming  friend  and 
self  ascended  the  barren  hills  of  White- 
marsh,  from  the  tops  of  which  we  had  an 
extensive  prospect  of  the  country  round. 
The  traces  of  the  Army  which  encamp'd 
on  these  hills  are  very  visible, — ragged 
huts,  imitations  of  chimneys,  and  many 
other  ruinous  objects,  which  plainly 
show'd  they  had  been  there.  D.  J.  Shoe 
maker  dined  with  us. 

Second  Day. 

Very  cold  and  windy.  I  wonder  I  am 
not  sent  for.  Read  and  work'd  by  turns. 


,77g]  Sally   Wister  145 

Third  Day. 

A    raw,    snowy   day.     I    am    sent    for, 
nevertheless.     Adieu. 


North    Wales,   at  my  old  habitation  at  the   Mill. 

March  ist,  1778,    Third  Day  Eve. 

Such  a  ride  as  I  have  had,  O  dear 
Debby(P).1  About  2  o'clock  the  sleigh  came 
for  me.  Snowing  excessively  fast,  though 
not  sufficiently  deep  to  make  it  tolerable 
sleighing ;  but  go  I  must.  I  bid  adieu  to 
my  agreeable  frds,  and  with  a  heavy  heart 
&  flowing  eyes,  I  seated  myself  in  the 
unsociable  vehicle. 

There  might  as  well  have  been  no  snow 
on  the  ground.  I  was  jolted  just  to 
pieces.  But,  notwithstanding  these  vexa 
tions,  I  got  safe  to  my  home,  when  I  had 
the  great  pleasure  of  finding  my  dear 
parents,  sisters  and  brother  well,  a  bless 
ing  which  I  hope  ever  to  remember  with 
thankfulness. 

1  Not  legible. 


146  Journal     of  [Mayii 

Well,  will  our  nunnery  be  more  bearable 
now  than  before  I  left  it  ?  No  beaus 
since  I  left  here,  so  I  have  the  advantage 
of  the  girls.  They  are  wild  to  see  Major 
Jameson. 

May  ntb,  1778. 

The  scarcity  of  paper,  which  is  very 
great  in  this  part  of  the  country,  and  the 
three  last  months  producing  hardly  any 
thing  material,  has  prevented  me  from 
keeping  a  regular  account  of  things ;  but 
to-day  the  scene  begins  to  brighten,  and 
I  will  continue  my  nonsense. 

In  the  afternoon,  we  were  just  seated  at 
tea, — Dr.  Moore1  with  us.  Nelly  (our 
girl)  brought  us  the  wonderful  intelligence 
that  there  were  light  horse  in  the  road. 

1  DR.  CHARLES  MOORE,  of  Montgomery  Square,  Montgomery 
County,  son  of  Richard  and  Margaret  (Preston)  Moore,  was  born 
March  25,  1724.  He  was  graduated  in  medicine  at  the  University 

of  Edinburgh,  Scot 
land,  in  1752,  his 
thesis  entitled  De  Usu 

_  _  Vtsicant'wm  in  Feb- 

•* **^^  l^1^"         ^*^^*""^Sp          ribus    being    printed 

in  Edinburgh  the  following  year.      On  his  return  to  Pennsylvania 
he  brought  a  certificate  of  removal  dated  March  29,  1753, 


Old  Mantel  an 
Emlen  House,   "  Whitemarsh,"   now  Camp  Hill,  1902 


1778]  Sally   Wister  H7 

The  tea-table  was  almost  deserted.  About 
15  light  horse  were  the  vanguard  of  16 
hundred  men  under  the  command  of 
Gen'l  Maxwell.1  I  imagin'd  that  they 

the  Monthly  Meeting  of  Friends  in  Edinburgh  to  Philadelphia 
Monthly  Meeting,  which  states  that  in  1751  he  had  gone  to 
London,  but  had  returned  again  to  Edinburgh,  "  where  he 
Resided  about  one  year  Longer  Closely  followed  the  Business  he 
came  hither  for,  gave  content  to  all  ye  Professors  of  ye  Colleges, 
who  conferred  a  Diploma  upon  Him." 

In  1767  he  was  married,  contrary  to  the  order  of  Friends,  to 
his  cousin,  Milcah  Martha  Hill,  and  settled  at  Montgomery  Square, 
where  he  practiced  his  profession.  He  died  without  issue,  at  his 
residence,  August  19,  1801,  and  was  buried  in  Friends'  burial 
ground  at  North  Wales  or  Gwynedd. — Keith's  "Councillors," 
74 ;  John  Jay  Smith,  "  Letters  of  Hill  Family  "  ;  American 
Daily  Advertiser,  August  24,  1801  ;  Jos.  Smith,  Sup.  Cat. 
Friends'  Books;  Dr.  Thomas  G.  Morton,  "History  Pennsylvania 
Hospital,"  490. 

1  WILLIAM  MAXWELL,  eldest  son  of  John  and  Anne  Maxwell, 
was  born  in  County  Tyrone,  Ireland,  about  1733.  At  an  early 


age  he  came  with  his  parents  to  New  Jersey.  He  became  a 
soldier  in  the  French  and  Indian  War,  in  1758,  establishing 
a  good  record  for  gallantry  and  skill,  and  was  almost  constantly 


148  Journal     of  [Mayii 

wou'd  pass  immediately  by,  but  I  was 
agreeably  disappointed.  My  father  came 
in  with  the  Gen*!,  Col.  Broadhead,1  Major 

in  military  service  thereafter  until  the  summer  of  1780.  In 
1774  he  was  a  member  of  the  committee  that  appointed  the  New 
Jersey  delegates  to  the  general  Congress,  and  in  1775  and  1776  he 
represented  Sussex  County  in  the  New  Jersey  Provincial  Congress. 
When  the  Revolution  opened  he  was  made  Colonel  of  the  Second 
New  Jersey  Regiment,  November  8,  1775.  He  was  promoted  to 
be  Brigadier-General,  October  23,  1776.  At  the  head  of  a  New 
Jersey  brigade  he  fought  bravely  at  Brandy  wine  and  Germantown, 
and  spent  the  winter  of  1777—1778  at  Valley  Forge.  At  the 
battle  of  Monmouth  he  contributed  largely  to  the  success  of  the 
American  forces.  In  1779  he  served  under  General  Sullivan  in 
the  latter' s  expedition  against  the  Indians.  He  resigned  from  the 
Army  July  5,  1780.  "  I  believe  him  to  be,"  wrote  Washington, 
July  20,  1780,  "an  honest  man,  a  warm  friend  to  his  country, 
and  firmly  attached  to  her  interests."  He  died  in  Sussex  County, 
New  Jersey,  November  4,  1796,  and  was  buried  in  the  graveyard 
of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Greenwich  Township,  Sussex 
County. — Hist.  Sussex  Co.,  N.  J.,  61,  62;  Amer.  Hist.  Rec., 
II.,  325,  423  ;  Nat.  Cyc.  Bio.,  I.,  73  j  Heitman. 

1  DANIEL  BRODHEAD  was  a  native  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
In  1771  he  removed  to  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was 
commissioned  a  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  and  of  the 

Court  of  Com 
mon  Pleas  on 
July  9th  of  that 
year.  In  1773, 

he  was  app°inted 

Deputy  Surveyor- 
General  under  John  Lukens.  From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of 
the  Revolution  he  was  actively  engaged  in  military  service.  He 


Colonel  Daniel  Brocjhsatir,  ^ 


Sally   Wister  149 

Ogden1  and  Capt.  Jones.  The  Gen'l  is  a 
Scotsman,  —  nothing  prepossessing  in  his 
appearance ;  the  Col1  very  martial  and 
fierce ;  Ogden,  a  genteel  young  fellow, 
with  an  aquiline  nose. 


was  appointed  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Second  Battalion  of  Miles's 
Pennsylvania  Rifle  Regiment,  March  13,  1776  j  was  transferred  to 
the  Fourth  Pennsylvania,  October  25th,  1776  j  became  Colonel  of 
the  Eighth  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  March  12,  1777,  to  rank 
from  September  29,  1776.  He  was  in  most  of  the  battles  fought 
by  Washington's  army  until  1778,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the 
west  with  headquarters  at  Fort  Pitt,  where  he  was  almost  constantly 
engaged  in  a  struggle  with  the  Indian  allies  of  the  enemy  until  the 
close  of  the  War.  In  1789  he  was  elected  Surveyor-General  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  held  that  office  nearly  eleven  years.  His  death 
occurred  at  Milford,  Pennsylvania,  November  15,  1809. — Amer. 
Hist.  Rec.,  II.,  194-200  ;  Heitman. 

1  AARON  OGDEN,  son  of  Robert  Ogden,  member  of  Council 
and  Speaker  of  the  New  Jersey  Assembly,  was  born  in 
Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey,  December  3,  1756,  and  was  graduated 

from  Princeton  College  in  1773. 

t'me  ^e  was  an  ass^stant 

a  grammar  school,  but  on 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution  he  engaged  actively  in  military 
service.  He  held  the  office  of  Paymaster  of  the  First  New  Jersey 
Regiment  from  December  8,  1775,  to  November,  1776. 
November  29,  1776,  he  was  appointed  First-Lieutenant  of  his 
regiment,  and  from  February  I,  1777,  served  as  Regimental 
Quartermaster.  He  became  Brigade  Major  to  General  Maxwell, 
March  7,  1778  ;  Captain  of  the  First  New  Jersey,  February  2, 
1779  ;  and  served  to  the  close  of  the  war.  After  the  Revolution 


150  Journal  of         [May  n 

Captain  Cadwallader  Jones1  —  if  I  was 
not  invincible,  I  must  have  fallen  a  victim 
to  this  man's  elegancies,  but  (thank  my 
good  fortune,  I  am  not  made  of  suscep 
tibilities),  —  tall,  elegant  and  handsome,  — 
white  fac'd,  with  blue  regimentals,  and  a 
mighty  airish  cap  and  white  crest  ;  his 
behaviour  is  refin'd  —  a  Virginian.  They 
sat  a  few  minutes  after  tea,  then  bid  us 
adieu. 

This  brigade  is  encamp'd  about  three 
miles  from  us. 


he  studied  law  ;  and  in  1801  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States 
Senate  from  New  Jersey.  In  1  8  1  2  he  was  made  Governor  of  New 
Jersey.  From  1829  until  his  death  he  was  President-General  of 
the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati.  He  died  April  19,  1839,  at 
Elizabeth  town,  New  Jersey.  —  Nat.  Portrait  Gallery  (Phila., 
1834),  I.  ;  Nat.  Cyc.  Bio.,  V.,  203. 

1  CADWALLADER   JONES,  of  Virginia,    received  his  appointment 
as  Captain  of  the  Third  Continental  Dragoons,  February  6th,  1777, 


He  served  three  years  in  the  war. — Heitman  ;  Journal  House  of 
Delegates,  Va.,  for  1833,  Doc.  305  Cal.  State  Papers,  Va.,  II., 
370,  400. 


Major  Aaron  Ogden 


Sally   Wister  151 


First  Day  Evening. 

This  afternoon  has  been  productive  of 
adventures  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word. 
Jenny  Roberts,  Betsy,  Liddy,  and  I,  very 
genteelly  dress'd,  determined  to  take  a 
stroll.  Neighbor  Morgan's  was  proposed 
and  agreed  to.  Away  we  rambled,  heed 
less  girls.  Pass'd  two  picket  guards. 
Meeting  with  no  interruptions  encourag'd 
us. 

After  paying  our  visit,  we  walked 
towards  home,  when,  to  my  utter  astonish 
ment,  the  sentry  desir'd  us  to  stop  ;  that 
he  had  orders  not  to  suffer  any  persons  to 
pass  but  those  who  had  leave  from  the 
officer,  who  was  at  the  guard  house,  sur 
rounded  by  a  number  of  men.  To  go  to 
him  would  be  inconsistent  with  propriety; 
to  stay  there,  and  night  advancing,  was 
not  clever. 

I  was  much  terrified.  I  try'd  to 
persuade  the  soldier  to  let  us  pass.  "  No  ; 
he  dared  not."  Betsy  attempted  to  go. 
He  presented  his  gun,  with  the  bayonet 
fix'd.  This  was  an  additional  fright. 


i52  Journal   of  [junez 

Back  we  turn'd ;  and,  very  fortunately, 
the  officer,  Capt.  Emeson  [Emerson]1, 
seeing  our  distress,  came  to  us.  I  ask'd 
him  if  he  had  any  objection  to  our 
passing  the  sentry.  "  None  at  all, 
ma'am."  He  waited  upon  us,  and  repri 
manded  the  man,  and  we,  without  any 
farther  difficulty,  came  home. 

Third  Day,  June  2dy  1778. 
I  was  standing  at  the  back  window. 
An  officer  and  private  of  dragoons  rode 
by.  I  tore  to  the  door  to  have  a 
better  view  of  them.  They  stopped. 
The  officer  rode  up,  and  ask'd  for  Jesse, 
who  was  call'd. 

1  AMOS  EMERSON,  of  Chester,  New  Hampshire,  was  married  in 
1762  to  Susanna,  daughter  of  Captain  Abel  Morse.  He  served  as 
First-Lieutenant  of  the  Third  New  Hampshire  from  May  23d  to 


December,  1775  ;  First-Lieutenant,  Second  Continental  Infantry, 
January  i,  1776.  He  was  made  Captain  of  the  First  New 
Hampshire,  November,  1776,  and  retired  from  the  service 
January  i,  1781.  He  died  in  Candia  in  1823,  having  had  seven 
children  born  between  1764  and  1778. — Heitman ;  Chase, 
"  History  of  Chester,  N.  H."  ;  N.  H.  Revolutionary  Rolls. 


Sally   Wister  153 

Third-day  Afternoon ,  4.  <?  clock. 

Oh,  Deborah ;  what  capital  adventures. 
Jesse  came.  The  idea  of  having  light 
horse  quarter'd  at  the  farm  was  disa 
greeable  ;  the  meadows  just  fit  to  mow, 
and  we  had  heard  what  destruction 
awaited  their  footsteps. 

This  was  the  dialogue  between  Jesse 
and  the  officer : 

"  Pray,  sir,  can  I  have  quarters  for  a 
few  horsemen  ?  " 

"  How  many." 

"  Five  and  twenty,  sir.  I  do  not  mean 
to  turn  them  into  your  meadows.  If  you 
have  any  place  you  can  spare,  anything 
will  do." 

And  he  dismounted,  and  walk'd  into 
aunt's  parlour.  I,  determined  to  find  out 
his  character,  follow'd. 

"  I  have,"  reply'd  Jesse,  "  a  tolerable 
field,  that  perhaps  may  suit." 

"  That  will  do,  sir.  But  if  you  have 
any  objection  to  putting  them  in  a  field, 
my  men  shall  cut  the  grass,  and  bring  it 
in  the  road.  I  am  under  the  necessity  of 


154  Journal   of  [June  * 

quartering  them  here,  but  I  was  order'd. 
I  am  only  an  inferior  officer." 

Some  elegant  corporal,  thought  I,  and 
went  to  the  door.  He  soon  join'd  me, 
speaking  to  his  man,  "  Ride  off,  and  tell 
Mr.  Watts  we  rendezvous  here." 

He  inquir'd  the  name  of  the  farmer, 
and  went  into  aunt's ;  I  into  the  back 
room.  The  troop  rode  up.  "  New 
scenes,"  said  I,  and  mov'd  upstairs, 
where  I  saw  them  perform  their  different 
manoeuvres. 

This  Mr.  Watts l  is  remarkably  tall,  and 
a  good  countenance.  I  adjourn'd  to  our 

1JoHN  WATTS,  of  Virginia,  born  about  1755,  became  Cornet 
of  Virginia  Dragoons,  June  1 7,  1 776  ;  Lieutenant  First  Continental 
Dragoons,  February  12,  1777$  Captain,  April  7,  1778.  He  was 

wounded  at  Eutaw  Springs, 
September  8 ,  1781.  Was 
retained  in  Baylor's  Regi 
ment  of  Dragoons,  No 
vember  9,  1782,  and  served  to  the  close  of  the  War.  In  1799, 
in  preparing  for  the  anticipated  war  with  France,  he  was  made 
Lieutenant-Colonei  of  Light  Dragoons,  U.  S.  Army,  and  was 
honorably  discharged  June  15,  1800.  He  died  at  his  residence, 
Gravelly  Hill,  Bedford  County,  Virginia,  June  8,  1830. — Bland 
MSS.,  Cong.  Lib.,  Washington  ;  National  Intelligencer,  June  22, 
1830  ;  Heitman. 


Sally  Wister  155 

parlour.  This  first  officer  march'd  up 
and  down  the  entry.  Prissa  came  in. 

"  Good,  now,  Prissa.  What's  the  name 
of  this  man  ?  " 

"  Dyer,  I  believe.  Capt.  Dyer."  Oh, 
the  name  ! 

"  What  does  he  say  ?  " 

"  Why,  that  he  will  kiss  me  when  he 
has  din'd."  "  Singular,"  I  observ'd,  "  on 
so  short  an  acquaintance." 

"  But,"  resum'd  Prissa,  "  he  came  and 
fix'd  his  arm  on  the  chair  I  sat  in  : 

" c  Pray,  ma'am,  is  there  not  a  family 
from  town  with  you  ? ' 

" <  Yes/ 

"  f  What's  their  name  ? ' 

"  <  Wister.' 

"  c  There's  two  fine  girls  there.  I  will 
go  chat  with  them.  Pray,  did  they  leave 
their  effects  in  Philada  ? ' 

"  <  Yes,  everything,  almost.' 

" c  They  shall  have  them  again,  that 
they  shall.'  " 

There  ended  the  conversation.  But 
this  ugly  name  teas'd  me. 


156  Journal   of  [jimez 

"  Oh,  Sally,  he  is  a  Virginian  ;  that's  in 
his  favr  greatly.  I'm  not  sure  that's  his 
name,  but  I  understood  so." 

Prissa  left  us.  I  step'd  into  aunt's 
for  Johnny  and  desir'd  him  to  come  home. 
Up  started  the  Captain  : 

"  Pray,  let  me  introduce  you,  ma'am." 

"  I  am  perfectly  acquainted  with  him," 
said  I,  and  turned  to  the  door. 

"  Tell  your  sister  I  believe  she  is  not 
fond  of  strangers." 

I  smil'd,  and  returned  to  our  parlour. 

Third  Day  Night,  nine  o'clock,   aye  ten,  I  fancy. 

Take  a  circumstantial  account  of  this 
afternoon,  and  the  person  of  this  extraor 
dinary  man.  His  exterior  first.  His 
name  is  not  Dyer,  but  Alexander  Spots- 
wood  Dandridge,  *  which  certainly  gives  a 

1  ALEXANDER  SPOTSWOOD  DANDRIDGE,  son  of  Captain  Nathaniel 
Dandridge,  of  "  Elsing  Green,"   Hanover  County,  Virginia,  and 


his  wife,   Dorothea  Spotswood,   daughter  of  Governor  Alexander 
Spotswood,  of  Virginia,  was  born  at   "Elsing  Green,"  August  I, 


Captain 

Photographed  from  the  ori^n 


1778]  Sally   Wister  157 

genteel  idea  of  the  man.      But  I  will  be 
particular. 

His  person  is  more  elegantly  form'd 
than  any  I  ever  saw ;  tall  and  command 
ing.  His  forehead  is  very  white,  tho'  the 
lower  part  of  his  face  is  much  sunburn'd  ; 


1753.  In  1775,  probably  through  the  interest  of  his  brother- 
in-law,  Patrick  Henry,  young  Dandridge  became  associated  with 
the  Hendersons,  Boones  and  others  in  the  settlement  of  Kentucky, 
and  was  one  of  the  eighteen  men  who  met  in  legislative  Assembly 
under  a  large  elm  tree  near  the  walls  of  the  fort  at  Boones- 
borough,  May  23,  1775,  to  establish  a  government  in  the 
new  country. 

The  news  of  the  fight  at  Lexington,  however,  cut  short  the 
proceedings  of  the  Legislature,  and  most  of  the  members  hastened 
to  the  defense  of  the  Colonies.  It  is  shown  by  family  letters  that 
for  a  time  young  Dandridge  was  attached  to  General  Washington's 
staff,  but  this  was  apparently  uncommissioned  service,  as  his  name 
does  not  appear  in  any  staff-list  5  it  is  probable  that  he  was  only 
temporarily  a  member  of  the  General's  military  family,  as  being  a 
young  cousin  of  Mrs.  Washington. 

He  was  made  Lieutenant  of  the  Fourth  Virginia  Dragoons, 
June  13,  1776;  Captain  of  the  Virginia  Artillery  Battalion, 
November  30,  17765  and  Captain  of  the  First  Continental 
Dragoons,  March  1 5th,  1777.  He  resigned  from  the  Army 
April  14,  1780. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  War,  so  the  story  goes,  Captain 
Dandridge  was  in  Winchester  for  a  short  time,  and  one  day, 
standing  with  a  group  of  officers  near  the  entrance  of  old  Fort 
Loudoun,  he  saw  riding  towards  them  General  Adam  Stephen  and 
a  beautiful  young  girl  in  a  red  riding-dress.  This  was  the  General's 


158  Journal   of          [June  2 

his  features  are  extremely  pleasing ;  an 
even,  white  set  of  teeth,  dark  hair  and 
eyes.  I  can't  better  describe  him  than  by 
saying  he  is  the  handsomest  man  I  ever 
beheld.  Betsy  and  Liddy  coincide  in  this 
opinion. 

After  I  had  sat  a  while  at  home,  in 
came  Dandridge.  He  enter'd  into  chat 
immediately.  Ask'd  if  we  knew  Tacy 
Vanderen. l  Said  he  courted  her,  and 


daughter,  Anne  Stephen,  who  had  ridden  with  her  father  from 
their  home  in  Berkeley  County,  twenty  miles  away,  to  see  the 
soldiers.  The  gallant  young  captain  soon  fell  a  victim  to  the  fair 
Anne's  charms,  and  their  marriage  was  celebrated  not  long  after. 
He  then  left  Hanover  County,  and  settled  on  a  large  plantation 
called  the  "  Bovver,"  in  what  is  now  Jefferson  County,  in  the 
Valley  of  Virginia,  about  eight  miles  from  Martinsburg.  Here  he 
died,  in  April,  1785  (buried  in  Martinsburg),  leaving  his  young 
widow  with  an  only  child,  a  son,  Adam  Stephen  Dandridge,  but 
little  over  two  years  of  age,  to  survive.  The  widow  died  in  1834 
aged  76  years.  The  son  inherited  the  "  Bower,"  and  it  is  still 
owned  by  descendants  of  the  name. — Collins,  Hist.  Ky.,  337, 
501;  Amer.  Arch.,  III.,  1594,  VI.,  1566;  Heitman  j 
data  from  Dandridge  family. 

1  TACY  VANDEREN  was  a  daughter  of  John  Vanderen  and 
his  wife  Susanna,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Mary  Holcomb, 
of  Buckingham,  Bucks  County.  John  Vanderen  was  a 
Quaker  miller,  whose  mill  was  located  on  the  Wissahickon,  near 
its  junction  with  the  Schuylkill,  in  Roxborough  Township, 


... ^^.^.^aatt         ~^- 

NV  ^ord"  grant  me  Wisdoiu  to  direct  my  ways 

i          "••"  V^  <     t  t  v*%. 

I  ask  not  itches  not  j€t  length  of : 


- 


Good     e 


our  bcmg«  cud  and  ail 
*-?  ^c-ot^n  wfct  ecrthr  name 


dropj  fcclow 


Sally  Wister's  Sampler. 


1778]  Sally   Wister  159 

that  they  were  to  be  married  soon. 
Observ'd  my  sampler,  which  was  in  full 
view.  Wish'd  I  would  teach  the  Vir 
ginians  some  of  my  needle  wisdom ;  they 
were  the  laziest  girls  in  the  world.  Told 
his  name.  Laugh'd  and  talk'd  incessantly. 

At  last,  "  May  I  "  (to  mamma)  "  intro 
duce  my  brother  officer  ?  "  We  assented  ; 
so  he  call'd  him. 

"  Mr.  Watts,  Mrs.  Wister,  young  Miss 
Wisters.  Mr.  Watts,  ladies,  is  one  of  our 
Virginia  children/' 

Philadelphia  County,  near  Germantown.  In  her  father's  will 
(U  103),  dated  July  ai,  1785,  probated  May  7,  1788,  she  is 
mentioned  as  Tacy,  "  the  Wife  of  Thomas  Smith,  Esquire." 

At  Abingon  Monthly  Meeting,  October  30,  1752,  John 
Vanderen  produced  a  certificate  for  himself  and  wife  from  Radnor 
Monthly  Meeting,  and  doubtless  took  up  his  residence  in 
Germantown.  He  joined  Buckingham  Monthly  Meeting  in  1745. 

By  deed  of  June  28,  1755,  John  Vanderin,  miller,  of 
Germantown,  came  into  possession  of  Roxborough  Mills,  formerly 
called  Wissahickon  Mills,  with  eight  acres  of  land  attached,  which 
he  had  purchased  from  the  estate  of  Henry  Shellenberg,  at  a 
vendue  held  May  5,  1755,  for  a  consideration  of  ^1115  (I  12, 
p.  418).  In  later  documents  he  is  styled  miller,  of  Roxborough 
Township. 

In  his  will  he  gives  to  his  wife  Susanna  the  use  of  the  house, 
her  choice  of  furniture,  including  "all  my  plate  and  Tea  Urn," 
one  good  new  single  "  Horse  Chaise,"  "  the  upper  half-part  of 


160  Journal   of  [June  2 

He  sat  down.  Tea  was  order'd.  Dan- 
dridge  never  drank  tea.  Watts  had 
done ;  so  we  sat  to  the  tea-table  alone. 

"  Let's  walk  in  the  garden/'  said  the 
Captain  ;  we  call'd  Liddy,  and  went  (not 
Watts).  We  sat  down  in  a  sort  of  a 
summer-house. 

"  Miss  Sally,  are  you  a  Quaker  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Now,  are  you  a  Quaker  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  am." 

"  Then  you  are  a  Tory." 

"  I  am  not,  indeed." 

"  Oh,  dear,"  reply'd  he,  "  I  am  a  poor 
creature.  I  can  hardly  live." 

Then,  flying  away  from  that  subject, 

"  Will  you  marry  me,  Miss  Sally  ?  " 


the  Flower  Garden  and  the  Front  half-part  of  the  Kitchen  Garden 
or  Garden  over  the  way."  She  is  to  receive  an  income  from 
"  the  Plantation  whereon  I  now  live  and  the  Mill  thereon  erected." 
To  his  "Honored  Mother  M.  Rorebach,"  he  leaves  ^12  per 
annum.  He  mentions  his  six  children,  John,  Charles,  George, 
Joseph  and  Susanna  Vanderin,  and  Tacy,  wife  of  Thomas  Smith. 
The  inventory  of  his  estate  includes  "  Sewell's  History,"  "  one 
lot  of  books,  viz.,  Journals  of  Friends,  etc.,"  "A  map  of 
America,"  and  "an  old  Bible  with  needlework  covering." 


Sally   Wister  161 

"  No,  really ;  a  gentleman  after  he  has 
said  he  has  not  sufficient  to  maintain  him 
self,  to  ask  me  to  marry  him." 

"  Never  mind  what  I  say,  I  have 
enough  to  make  the  pot  boil." 

Had  we  been  acquainted  seven  years, 
we  could  not  have  been  more  sociable. 
The  moon  gave  a  sadly  pleasing  light. 
We  sat  at  the  door  till  nine. 

Dandridge  is  sensible  (and  divest'd  of 
some  freedoms,  which  might  be  call'd 
gallant  in  the  fashionable  world),  he  is 
polite  and  agreeable.  His  greatest  fault  is 
a  propensity  to  swearing,  which  throws  a 
shade  over  his  accomplishments.  I 
ask'd  him  why  he  did  so.  "  It  is  a 
favorite  vice,  Miss  Sally."  At  nine  he 
went  to  his  chamber.  Sets  off  at  sunrise. 

Fourth  Day  Morn,  12  o'clock. 
I  was  awaken'd  at  four  this  morn  with 
a  great  racket  of  the  Captain's  servant 
calling  him  ;  but  the  lazy  fellow  never  rose 
till  about  half  an  hour  before  eight. 
This  his  daylight  ride. 


162  Journal   of  [June  3 

I  imagin'd  they  would  be  gone  before 
now,  so  I  dressed  in  a  green'h  skirt  and 
dark  short  gown.  Provoking.  So  down 
I  came,  this  Captain  (wild  wretch)  stand 
ing  at  the  back  door.  He  bow'd  and 
call'd  me.  I  only  look'd,  and  went  to 
breakfast. 

About  nine  I  took  my  work  and  seated 
myself  in  the  parlour.  Not  long  had  I 
sat,  when  in  came  Dandridge, — the  hand 
somest  man  in  existence,  at  least  that  I 
had  ever  seen. 

But  stop  here,  while  I  just  say,  the 
night  before,  chatting  upon  dress,  he 
said  he  had  no  patience  with  those  officers 
who,  every  morn,  before  they  went  on 
detachments,  wou'd  wait  to  be  dress'd  and 
powder'd. 

"  I  am,"  said  I,  "  excessively  fond  of 
powder,  and  think  it  very  becoming." 

"  Are  you  ?  "  he  reply'd.  "  I  am  very 
careless,  as  often  wearing  my  cap  thus  " 
(turning  the  back  part  before)  "  as  any 
way." 

I   left  off  where  he  came  in.      He  was 


i77»]  Sally   Wister  163 

powder'd  very  white,  a  (pretty  colour'd) 
brown  coat,  lapell'd  with  green,  and  white 
waistcoat,  &c.,  and  his 

"  Sword  beside  him  negligently  hung." 

He  made  a  truly  elegant  figure. 

"  Good  morning,  Miss  Sally.  You  are 
very  well,  I  hope." 

"  Very  well.  Pray  sit  down,"  which 
he  did,  close  by  me.  "  Oh,  dear,"  said 
I,  "  I  see  thee  is  powder'd." 

"Yes,  ma'am.  I  have  dress'd  myself 
off  for  you." 

Will  I  be  excused,  Debby,  if  I  look 
upon  his  being  powder'd  in  the  light  of  a 
compliment  to  me  ?  "  Yes,  Sally,  as  thee 
is  a  country  maid,  and  don't  often  meet 
with  compliments."  Saucy  Debby  Norris ! 

'Tis  impossible  to  write  a  regular  account 
of  our  conversation.  Be  it  sufficient 
to  say  that  we  had  a  multiplicity  of  chat. 

About  an  hour  since,  sister  Hannah1 
came  to  me  and  said  Captain  Dandridge 

1  HANNAH  WISTER,  born  November  19,  1767,  died  unmarried 
about   1827. 


164  Journal   of          [June  3 

was  in  the  parlour,  and  had  ask'd  for  me. 
I  went  in.  He  met  me,  caught  my 
hands.  "Oh,  Miss  Sally,  I  have  a 
beautiful  sweetheart  for  you." 

"  Poh  !  ridiculous  !     Loose  my  hands." 

"  Well,  but  don't  be  so  cross." 

"  Who  is  he  !" 

"  Major  Clough." 

"  I  have  seen  him.  Ain't  he  pretty,  to 
be  sure?" 

"I  am  going  to  headquarters.  Have 
you  any  commands  there?" 

"None  at  all;  but  (recollecting),  yes, 
I  have.  Pray,  who  is  your  commanding 
officer?" 

"Col.  Bland,  ma'am." 

"  Please  give  my  compliments  to  him, 
and  I  shou'd  be  glad  if  he  wou'd  send 
thee  back  with  a  little  more  manners." 

He  reply'd  wickedly,  and  told  me  I  had 
a  little  spiteful  heart.  But  he  was  intoler 
ably  saucy  ;  said  he  never  met  with  such 
ladies. 

"  Not  to  let  me  kiss  you.  You're  very 
ill-natur'd,  Miss  Sally." 


1778]          Sally  Wister  165 

And,  putting  on  the  sauciest,  sober  face, 
"Sally,  if  Tacy  V-nd-r-n  won't  have  me, 
will  you?" 

"  No,  really  ;  none  of  her  discarded 
lovers." 

"  But,  provided  I  prefer  you  to  her,  will 
you  consent?" 

"No,  I  won't." 

"Very  well,  madam." 

And,  after  saying  he  would  return 
to-morrow,  among  a  hundred  other 
things,  he  elegantly  walk'd  out  of  the 
room. 

Soon  he  came  back,  took  up  a  volume  of 
Homer's  Iliad,  and  read  to  us.  He  reads 
very  well,  and  with  judgment.  One 
remark  he  made,  that  I  will  relate,  on 
these  lines, — 

"  While  Greece  a  heavy,  thick  retreat  maintains, 
Wedg'd  in  one  body,  like  a  flight  of  cranes." 

"  God  knows  our  Army  don't  do  so.       I 
wish  they  did." 

He  laugh'd,  threw  down  the  book,  left 
his  sword,  and  went  away. 


i66 


Journal   of           [june3 


Four  o1  clock y   Afternoon. 

Major  Clough, l  Captain  Swan,2  and 
Mr.  Moore,  a  lieutenant  of  horse,  din'd 
with  Dandridge.  The  latter,  after  dinner, 
came  in  to  bid  us  adieu.  He  sat  down, 
and  was  rather  saucy.  I  look'd  very 
grave. 

"  Miss  Betsy,  you  have  a  very  ill- 
natur'd  sister.  Observe  how  cross  she 
looks." 

He  prayed  we  might  part  friends,  and 
offer'd  his  hand.  I  gave  him  mine,  which 
he  kiss'd  in  a  very  gallant  manner ;  and 
so,  with  a  truly  affectionate  leave,  he 

1  ALEXANDER   CLOUGH   was    made    Adjutant  of   the   First  New 
Jersey   Troop,    November  20,     1775,   an^    Major  of    the    Third 
Continental  Dragoons,  January  8,  1777.      He  was  killed  at  Tappan, 
September  28,  1778. 

2  JOHN   SWAN,  of  Mary 
land,  was  made   Captain  of 
the     Third      Continental 
Dragoons,       April       26th, 
1777.        ^e     was     taken 
prisoner    at    Tappan,     Sep 
tember  28,  1778.      October  21,    1780,   he  became  Major  of  the 
First  Continental  Dragoons.      November  9,  1782,  he  was  retained 
in  Baylor's  Regiment  of  Dragoons,  and  served  to  the  close  of  the 
war. — Heitman. 


Sally   Wister  167 

walked  to  the  parlour  door,  "  God 
Almighty  bless  you,  ladies ; "  bow'd, 
went  into  the  road,  mounted  a  very  fine 
horse,  and  rode  away  ;  leaving  Watts  and 
the  troop  here,  to  take  care  of  us,  as  he 
said. 

"  Mr.  Watts,  Miss  Sally,  is  a  very 
worthy  man ;  but,  poor  soul,  he  is  so 
captivated  with  you,  —  the  pain  in  his 
breast  all  owing  to  you,  —  he  was  caught 
by  this  beauty-spot,"  tapping  my  cheek. 
He  could  not  have  thought  it  was  meant 
for  an  addition,  as  the  size  of  it  shew'd 
the  contrary.  But  he  is  gone ;  and  I 
think,  as  I  have  escap'd  thus  far  safe,  I 
am  quite  a  heroine,  and  need  not  be  fear 
ful  of  any  of  the  lords  of  the  creation  for 
the  future. 

Six  o*  clock.   Even*. 

Watts  drank  tea  with  us.  A  convers 
able  man.  Says  that  the  Dandridges  are 
one  of  the  genteelest  families  in  Virginia, 
— relations  of  General  Washington's  wife. 
He  appeared  very  fond  of  the  Captain, 


i68 


Journal   of          [June  3 


who  has  had  a  liberal  education.  Very 
sensible  and  brave. 

I  sat  in  the  entry  all  last  evening,  as  did 
Betsy.  But  first,  let  me  say,  Fifth-day 
morn  we  chatted  on  a  variety  of  subjects ; 
and  amongst  others,  he  mentioned  the 
cruelty  of  the  Britons,  which,  I  agreed, 
was  very  great.  He  said  he  wou'd 
retaliate  whenever  he  had  an  opportunity. 

I  strenuously  oppos'd  such  a  procedure, 
observing  that  it  would  be  erring  in  the 
same  way,  and  tho'  they  might  deserve  it, 
yet  it  wou'd  be  much  nobler  to  treat  them 
with  lenity.  Remember  those  lines  of 
Pope- 

"  That  mercy  I  to  others  shew, 
That  mercy  shew  to  me." 

"  I  perfectly  remember  them.  Your 
sentiments  are  noble ;  but  we  must 
retaliate  sometimes." 

A  horseman  delivered  this  message : 
"  Let  the  troop  lie  on  their  arms,  and  be 
ready  to  march  at  a  moment's  warning." 

He  immediately  gave  those  orders  to 
the  sergeant.  Every  soldier  was  in 


1778]          Sally   Wister  169 

motion.  I  was  a  good  deal  frighten'd, 
and  ask'd  Watts  the  reason.  He  fancy'd 
the  British  were  in  motion,  tho'  he  had 
not  receiv'd  such  intelligence. 

"  What  will  thee  do  if  they  come 
here  ?  " 

"  Defend  the  house  as  long  as  I  can, 
ma'am." 

I  was  shock'd.  "  Bless  my  heart ; 
what  will  become  of  us  ?  " 

"  You  may  be  very  safe.  The  house  is' 
an  excellent  house  to  defend ;  only  do 
you  be  still.  If  the  British  vanquish  us, 
down  on  your  knees,  and  cry,  c  Bless  the 
king/  If  we  conquer  them,  why,  you 
know  you  are  safe." 

This  added  to  my  fright.  I  called  my 
dear  mamma,  who  was  much  indisposed. 
Dadda  was  gone  to  Lancaster.  Mamma 
ask'd  him  the  same  questions,  and  he 
gave  her  the  same  answers.  I  was  in  a 
fearful  taking,  and  said  that  if  I  thought 
such  a  thing  wou'd  happen,  I  wou'd  set 
off,  tho*  nine  o'clock,  and  walk  to  Uncle 
Foulke's. 


1 70  Journal   of  [June  3 

"  No,  don't  go  to-night,  Miss  Sally. 
I  will  take  you  there  to-morrow.  Don't 
be  uneasy.  This  is  nothing.  I  often  go 
to  bed  with  my  boots  on  upon  some 
alarms." 

"  But  will  thee  take  off  thy  boots 
to-night  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  will,  indeed." 

"  Is  thee  really  in  earnest  about  defend 
ing  the  house  ?  " 

"  No,  madam ;  for  believe  me,  if  I  hear 
the  enemy  is  in  motion,  depend  upon  it,  I 
will  immediately  depart,  bag  and  baggage." 

This  dispell'd  my  fears,  and  after  wishes 
for  a  good  night,  he  retir'd  to  his  chamber. 
Imagine  my  consternation  when  our  girl 
came  running  in,  and  said  the  lane  was 
filled  with  light  horse.  I  flew  to  the  side 
door.  It  was  true. 

My  joy  was  great  when  I  heard  Major 
Clough  ask  if  this  was  Capt.  Dandridge's 
quarters.  I  answered  in  the  affirmative. 
He  rode  round  to  the  other  door.  Watts, 
tho'  gone  to  bed,  was  call'd.  He  chatted 
apart  to  the  Major  a  while,  then  went  off 


1778]  Sally   Wister  171 

towards  Skippack  road,  follow'd  by  a  large 
party  of  horse  and  waggons. 

My  fears  were  all  renew'd  ;  and,  as  if 
we  were  to  be  in  perpetual  alarms,  by  came 
another  party,  much  larger  than  the  other, 
in  dark  clothes.  These  we  all  thought 
were  British.  They  halted.  All  as  still 
as  death.  '  The  officer  rode  up  to  the 
door. 

"  Does  Mr.  Foulke  live  here  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  somebody. 

"  Is  there  not  a  family  from  town  here, 
—Mr.  Wister's  ?  " 

I  recollected  the  voice,  and  said,  "  Cap 
tain  Stoddard,  I  presume  ?  " 

"  Yes,  madam.  Are  you  Mr.  Wister's 
wife  ?  " 

"  No,  his  daughter." 

"  Is  your  papa  at  home  ?  " 

"  No,"  I  reply'd,  but  invited  him  in  to 
see  mamma. 

He  agreed  ;  dismounted,  as  did  many 
other  officers  ;  but  he  alone  came  into  our 
parlour.  Watts  follow'd,  to  bid  us  adieu. 
They  sat  a  few  minutes  ;  told  us  that  two 


Journal   of  [June3 

of  their  men  had  deserted,  and  when  that 
was  the  case,  they  generally  mov'd  their 
quarters.  Watts  told  him  how  I  was 
frightened.  He  said  I  paid  but  a  poor 
compliment  to  their  cavalry.  I  only 
smil'd.  The  alarm  had  partly  deprived 
me  of  the  power  of  speech. 

They  sat  about  fifteen  minutes,  then 
rose,  and  after  the  politest  adieus,  departed. 
All  the  horse  followed — about  one  hundred 
and  fifty.  I  never  saw  more  regularity 
observed,  or  so  undisturb'd  a  silence  kept 
up  when  so  large  a  number  of  people 
were  together.  Not  a  voice  was  heard, 
except  that  of  the  officer  who  gave  the 
word  of  command. 

The  moon  at  intervals  broke  thro*  the 
heavy  black  clouds.  No  noise  was  per- 
ceiv'd,  save  that  which  the  horses  made  as 
they  trotted  o'er  the  wooden  bridge  across 
the  race.  Echo  a  while  gave  us  back  the 
sound.  At  last  nothing  was  left  but  the 
remembrance  of  them.  The  family  all 
retir'd  to  their  respective  chambers,  and 
enjoyed  a  calm  repose. 


Sally   Wister  173 

This  Captain  Stoddard l  is  from  New 
England,  and  belongs  to  Col.  Sheldon's 
regiment  of  dragoons.  He  made  an 
acquaintance  with  my  father  at  German- 
town,  whilst  our  Army  was  at  that  place, 
and  had  been  here  once  before.  He  is 
clever  and  gentlemanly. 


1  JOSIAH  STODDARD  was  born  in  Salisbury,  Conn.,  December  2, 
1747;  was  son  of  Josiah  (died  1764)  and  Sarah  Stoddard.  On 
August  22,  1774,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Salisbury  Town 
Committee  of  Correspondence.  He  was  one  of  the  party  that 
went  from  Connecticut  to  effect  the  capture  of  Fort  Ticonderoga, 
serving  from  May  I  to  June  8th,  1775,  at  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point.  This  company  joined  others,  and  put  themselves  under  the 
command  of  Col.  Ethan  Allen,  but  (as  Allen  says)  the  attempt 
was  made  under  the  authority  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
Connecticut,  and  the  plan  of  the  enterprise  was  due  to  a  party  of 
sixteen,  of  whom  Stoddard  was  one.  His  conduct  on  the 
expedition  was  in  some  way  questioned  by  another  member  of  the 
party,  William  Nichols,  of  Hartford,  and  the  matter  caused  the 
passing  of  an  act  against  duelling,  in  May,  1779.  Appointed 
Second-Lieutenant  in  Captain  Josiah  Starr's  Company  in  May, 
1776  ;  but  appears  to  have  served  at  some  time  during  that  year  as 
First-Lieutenant  in  Captain  Simeon  Smith's  Company,  Colonel 
Philip  Burr  Bradley 's  regiment  of  Connecticut  State  troops. 
Appointed  Captain  of  a  company  in  Colonel  Elisha  Sheldon's 
regiment  of  Light  Dragoons,  December  3ist,  1776.  Was  sick 
with  fever  at  Boston  in  August,  1779.  Died  August  24th,  1779. 
— Albert  C.  Bates,  Librarian  of  Connecticut  Historical  Society, 
Hartford. 


174  Journal   of           pune4 

Fifth  Day,  June  4tbt  2  o'clock. 
Oh,  gracious !  how  warm  is  this  day. 
But,  warm  as  it  is,  I  must  make  a  slight 
alteration  in  my  dress.  I  do  not  make  an 
elegant  figure,  tho*  I  do  not  expect  to  see 
the  face  of  a  stranger  to-day. 

Sixth  Day,    June  $th,    Morn,   n  o1  clock. 

Last  night  we  were  a  little  alarm'd.  I  was 
awaken'd  about  12  o'clock  with  somebody's 
opening  the  chamber  door.  I  observ'd 
Cousin  Prissa  talking  to  Mamma.  I 
asked  what  was  the  matter. 

"  Only  a  party  of  light  horse." 

"  Are  they  Americans  ?  "  I  quickly 
said. 

She  answer'd  in  the  affirmative  (which 
dispell'd  my  fears),  and  told  me  Major 
Jameson  commanded,  and  that  Capts.  Call 
and  Nixon *  were  with  him.  With  this 


1  AN  D  REW 
NIXON,  of  Vir 
ginia,  was  made 
Adjutant  of 

Eland's  First  Regiment  of  Virginia  Light  Dragoons,   March   31, 
1777-       (,Bland  MSS.,  Cong.  Lib.)      Later  he  was  raised  to  the 


1778]  Sally   Wister  175 

intelligence  she  left  us,  and  I  revolved  in 
my  mind  whether  or  not  Jameson  would 
renew  his  acquaintance ;  but  Morpheus 
buried  all  my  ideas,  and  this  morn  I  rose 
by  or  near  seven,  dress'd  in  my  light 
chintz,  which  is  made  gown-fashion,  kent- 
ing  handkerchief,  and  linen  apron. 

"  Sufficiently  smart  for  a  country  girl, 
Sally." 

Don't  call  me  a  country  girl,  Debby 
Norris.  Please  to  observe  that  I  pride 
myself  upon  being  a  Philadelphian,  and 
that  a  residence  of  20  months  has  not  at  all 
diminished  the  love  I  have  for  that  dear 
place  ;  and  as  soon  as  one  very  capital 
alteration  takes  place  (which  is  very  much 
talk'd  of  at  present),  I  expect  to  return  to 
it  with  a  double  pleasure. 

Dress'd  as  above,  down  I  came,  and 
went  down  to  our  kitchen,  which  is  a 
small  distance  from  the  house.  As  I 
came  back  I  saw  Jameson  at  the  window. 
He  met  me  in  the  entry,  bow'd :  —  "  How 

rank   of  Captain   (Journal  Va.   House  of   Delegates,   Richmond, 
1833,  Doc.  No.  30). 


176  Journal   of  Dune  ? 

do  you  do,  Miss  Sally  ? "  After  the  compli 
ments  usual  on  such  occasions  had  passed,  I 
invited  him  into  our  parlour.  He  follow'd 
me  in.  We  chatted  very  sociably. 

I  inquired  for  Polly  Fishbourn.  He 
said  he  had  seen  her  last  First-day  ;  that 
she  was  well.  Her  mamma1  had  gone  to 
Lancaster,  to  visit  her  daughter  Wharton, 
who,  as  I  suppose  you  have  heard,  has 
lost  her  husband. 

I  ask'd  him  whether  Dandridge  was  on 
this  side  the  Delaware.  He  said  "  Yes." 
I  wanted  sadly  to  hear  his  opinion,  but  he 
said  not  a  word. 

The  conversation  turn'd  upon  the 
British  leaving  Philada.  He  firmly 
believ'd  they  were  going.  I  sincerely 
wish'd  it  might  be  true,  but  was  afraid  to 
flatter  myself.  I  had  heard  it  so  often 
that  I  was  quite  faithless,  and  express'd 
my  approbation  of  Pope's  I2th  beatitude, 
"  Blessed  are  they  that  expect  nothing,  for 

1  This  was  Mary  Fishbourne.  Her  son-in-law,  Thomas  Whar 
ton,  President  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  died  May  21, 
1778,  at  Lancaster,  which  was  then  the  seat  of  the  Pennsylvania 
government. — See  footnote,  page  140. 


1778]  Sally   Wister  177 

they  shall  not  be  disappointed."  He  smil'd, 
and  assur'd  me  they  were  going  away. 

He  was  summoned  to  breakfast.  I 
ask'd  him  to  stay  with  us.  He  declin'd 
the  invitation  with  politeness,  adding  that 
he  was  in  a  hurry,  —  oblig'd  to  go  to 
Camp  as  soon  as  he  could.  Fie  bow'd, 
"  Your  servant,  ladies,"  and  withdrew 
immediately.  After  breakfast  they  set  off 
for  Valley  Forge,  where  Gen'l  Washington's 
army  still  are. 

I  am  more  pleas'd  with  Major  Jameson 
than  I  was  at  first.  He  is  sensible  and 
agreeable,  —  a  manly  person,  and  a  very 
good  countenance.  We  girls  differ  about 
him.  Prissa  and  I  admire  him,  whilst 
Liddy  and  Betsy  will  not  allow  him  a 
spark  of  beauty.  Aunt's  family  are 
charm'd  with  his  behaviour,  —  so  polite,  so 
unassuming.  When  he  disturb'd  them 
last  night,  he  made  a  hundred  apologies, 
—  was  so  sorry  to  call  them  up,  —  'twas 
real  necessity  oblig'd  him. 

I  can't  help  remarking  the  contrast 
between  him  and  Dandridge.  The 


178  Journal   of  [June  5 

former  appears  to  be  rather  grave  than 
gay,  —  no  vain,  assuming  airs.  The  latter 
calls  for  the  genius  of  a  Hogarth  to 
characterize  him.  He  is  possess'd  of  a 
good  understanding,  a  very  liberal  edu 
cation,  gay  and  volatile  to  excess.  He  is 
an  Indian,  a  gentleman,  grave  and  sad 
in  the  same  hour. 

But  what  signifies  ?  I  can't  give  thee  a 
true  idea  of  him ;  but  he  assumes  at 
pleasure  a  behaviour  the  most  courtly,  the 
most  elegant  of  anything  I  ever  saw. 
He  is  very  entertaining  company,  and 
very  vain  of  his  personal  beauties  ;  yet 
nevertheless  his  character  is  exceptional. 

Sixth  Day,   Noon  and  Even*. 

Nothing  material  occurred. 

Seventh  Day  Night. 

A  dull  morn.  In  the  afternoon,  Liddy, 
Betsy,  R.  H.  and  self  went  to  one  of  our 
neighbours  to  eat  strawberries.  Got  a 
few.  Return'd  home;  drank  tea.  No 
beaus.  Adieu. 


1778]  Sally   Wister  179 

First  Day,   Even'g. 

High-ho !  Debby,  there's  no  little 
meaning  in  that  exclamation,  ain't  there. 
To  me  it  conveys  much.  I  have  been 
looking  what  the  dictionary  says.  It 
denotes  uneasiness  of  mind.  I  don't 
know  that  my  mind  is  particularly  uneasy 
just  now. 

The  occurrences  of  the  day  come  now. 
I  left  my  chamber  between  eight  and  nine, 
breakfasted,  went  up  to  dress,  put  on  a  new 
purple  and  white  striped  Persian,  white 
petticoat,  muslin  apron,  gauze  cap,  and 
handkerchief.  Thus  array'd,  Miss  Norris, 
I  ask  your  opinion.  Thy  partiality  to 
thy  friend  will  bid  thee  say  I  made  a 
tolerable  appearance.  Not  so,  my  dear. 
I  was  this  identical  Sally  Wister,  with  all 
her  whims  and  follies ;  and  they  have 
gain'd  so  great  an  ascendency  over  my 
prudence,  that  I  fear  it  will  be  a  hard 
matter  to  divest  myself  of  them.  But  I 
will  hope  for  a  reformation. 

Cousin  Hannah  Miles  came  about  nine, 
and  spent  the  day  with  us.  After  we  had 


i8o  Journal   of  [June  7 

din'd,  two  dragoons  rode  up  to  the  door ; 
one  a  waiting-man  of  Dandridge's,  the 
faithful  Jonathan.  They  are  quarter'd  a 
few  miles  from  us. 

The  junior  sisters  (Liddy  and  Betsy), 
join'd  by  me,  ventur'd  to  send  our  compli 
ments  to  the  Captain  and  Watts.  Prissa 
insists  that  it  is  vastly  indelicate,  and  that 
she  has  done  with  us.  Hey  day  !  What 
prudish  notions  are  those,  Priscilla !  I 
banish  prudery.  Suppose  we  had  sent 
our  love  to  him,  where  had  been  the 
impropriety  ?  for  really  he  had  a  person 
that  was  love-inspiring,  tho'  I  escap'd,  and 
may  say,  lo  triumphe.  I  answer  not  for 
the  other  girls,  but  am  apt  to  conclude 
that  Cupid  shot  his  arrows,  and  may  be 
they  had  effect. 

A  fine  evening  this.  If  wishes  cou'd 
avail,  I  wou'd  be  in  your  garden  with 
S.  Jones,  P.  Fishbourn,  and  thyself. 
Thee  has  no  objection  to  some  of  our 
North  Wales  swains, —  not  the  beaus  in 
habitants  of  N —  W — ,  but  some  of  the 
transitory  ones.  But  cruel  reverse.  In- 


,778]  Sally   Wister  181 

stead  of  having  my  wishes  accomplish'd 
I  must  confine  myself  to  the  narrow  limits 
of  this  farm. 

Liddy  calls  :  "  Sally,  will  thee  walk  ?  " 
"Yes."  Perhaps  a  walk  will  give  a  new 
turn  to  my  ideas,  and  present  something 
new  to  my  vacant  imagination. 

Sec 'o?i d  Day,    Third  Day,   Fourth  Day. 
No  new  occurrences  to  relate.     Almost 
adventureless,  except  Gen'l  Lacy's *  riding 

'JOHN  LACEY,  as  he  states  in  his  autobiography  (Pa.  Mag., 
XXV.,  XXVI.),  was  born  in  Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania,  Feb 
ruary  4,  1755,  a  son  of  John  and  Jane  (Chapman)  Lacey. 

When  the  Revolu 
tion  opened  he  re 
cruited  a  company, 
and  on  January  6, 
1776,  was  made  a 
Captain  in  Anthony 

Wayne's  regiment,  and  served  in  the  expedition  against  Canada. 
In  1777  he  was  promoted  to  be  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  militia,  and 
had  many  skirmishes  with  the  British  around  Whitemarsh.  He 
was  made  a  Brigadier-General  of  militia  on  January  9,  1778,  and 
continued  in  active  service  about  the  city  during  the  British  occupa 
tion  of  Philadelphia.  In  1778  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Assembly,  and  from  1779  until  1781  he  served  in 
the  Council.  In  August,  1780,  he  took  the  field  with  a  brigade 
of  militia,  and  was  active  in  all  the  movements  and  battles  of 


1 82  Journal   of         [June  is 

by,  and  his  fierce  horse  disdaining  to  go 
without  shewing  his  airs,  in  expectation  of 
drawing  the  attention  of  the  Mill  girls,  in 
order  to  glad  his  master's  eyes.  Ha  !  ha  ! 
ha !  One  would  have  imagin'd  that 
vanity  had  been  buried  amidst  the  shades 
of  N.  Wales. 

Lacy  is  tolerable ;  but  as  ill  luck  wou'd 
order  it,  I  had  been  busy,  and  my  auburn 
ringlets  were  much  dishevell'd ;  therefore 
I  did  not  glad  his  eyes,  and  cannot  set 
down  in  the  list  of  honours  receiv'd  that 
of  a  bow  from  Brigadier-Gen'l  Lacy. 

Fifth  Day  Night,    June  i8th. 

Rose  at  half-past  four  this  morning. 
Iron'd  industriously  till  one  o'clock,  din'd, 
went  up  stairs,  threw  myself  on  the  bed, 
and  fell  asleep.  About  four  sister  Hannah 
waked  me,  and  said  uncle  and  Foulke 
were  down  stairs  ;  so  I  decorated  myself, 

Washington's  Army  until  October,  1781.  After  the  Revolution, 
he  settled  in  New  Mills,  New  Jersey,  where  he  became  an  iron 
manufacturer.  He  served  on  the  bench,  and  in  the  New  Jersey 
Legislature.  His  death  occurred  at  New  Mills,  February  17,  1814. 


Sally   Wister  183 

and  went  down.  Felt  quite  lackadaisical. 
However,  I  jump'd  about  a  little,  and  the 
stupid  fit  went  off. 

We  have  had  strange  reports  about  the 
British  being  about  leaving  Philad3.  I 
can't  believe  it.  Adieu. 

Sixth  Day   Morn,   June  iptb. 

We  have  heard  an  astonishing  piece  of 
news  ! — that  the  English  have  entirely  left 
the  city  !  It  is  almost  impossible  !  Stay, 
I  shall  hear  further. 

Sixth  Day  Eve. 

A  light  horseman  has  just  confirm'd  the 
above  intelligence  !  This  is  charmante  I 
They  decamp'd  yesterday.  He  (the 
horseman)  was  in  Philada.  It  is  true. 
They  have  gone.  Past  a  doubt.  I  can't 
help  forbear  exclaiming  to  the  girls, — 

"  Now  are  you  sure  the  news-  is  true  ? 
Now  are  you  sure  they  have  gone  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes,  yes  !  "  they  all  cry,  "  and 
may  they  never,  never  return." 


1 84  Journal   of         [June  20 

Dr.  Gould  came  here  to-night.  Our 
army  are  about  six  miles  off,  on  their 
march  to  the  Jerseys. 

Seventh   Day   Morn. 

O.  F. l  arrived  just  now,  and  relateth  as 
followeth  : — The  Army  began  their  march 
at  six  this  morn  by  their  house.  Our 
worthy  Gen'l  Smallwood  breakfasted  at 
Uncle  Caleb's.2  He  ask'd  how  Mr.  & 
Mrs.  Wister  and  the  young  ladies  were, 
and  sent  his  respects  to  us. 

Our  brave,  our  heroic  General  Wash 
ington  was  escorted  by  fifty  of  the  Life 
Guard,  with  drawn  swords.  Each  day  he 
acquires  an  addition  to  his  goodness. 

We  have  been  very  anxious  to  hear  how 
the  inhabitants  have  far'd.  1  understand 
that  Gen'l  Arnold,3  who  bears  a  good 

1  Owen  Foulke,  son  of  Caleb. 

2  The  Meredith  house,  on  the  Swedes'  Ford  road. 

3  "  Since  my  writing  the  above,    Gen.  Arnold  has  forfeited  all 
right  to  a  good  character  by  the  shameful  desertion  of  his  country's 
cause,  joining  the  British,  accepting  a  commission,  and  plundering 
and  distressing  the   Americans." — [Footnote  by  Sally   Wister  on 
the  original  manuscript.] 


•pp Twp^r 

..of  v^»t4e^-^€, 

MH&So* 

*:--..-.  >  ? 


li^:Mfc«^ 


(fci- 


lAft) 


fa*  MI 


rvut 


f»*uL        /yy^  •    • 

i^te^^ 


The   End 

Photographed  from  the  original  manuscript 


1778]  Sally   Wister  185 

character,  has  the  command  of  the  city, 
and  the  soldiers  conducted  with  great 
decorum.  Smallwood  says  that  they  had 
the  strictest  orders  to  behave  well ;  and  I 
dare  say  they  obey'd  the  order.  I 
now  think  of  nothing  but  returning  to 
Philadelphia. 

So  shall  now  conclude  this  journal  with 
humbly  hoping  that  the  Great  Disposer  of 
events,  who  has  graciously  vouchsaf'd  to 
protect  us  to  this  day  through  many  dan 
gers,  will  still  be  pleas'd  to  continue  his 
protection. 

SALLY   WISTER. 


NORTH  WALES,   June  2Otb,   1778. 


APPENDIX 


LETTERS  TO   SALLY  WISTER 

FROM  HER  SCHOOL-GIRL  FRIENDS 


FROM    DEBORAH    NORRIS 
I. 

January  27,    1777 


Endorsed  :     "  ffor 

WISTI 

NORTH  WALES'* 


SALLY  WISTER  ™ 

JUN 


Here  I  am,  my  dear  Sally,  sitting  all  alone  by  a 
sparkling  fire  in  my  Chamber,  with  Pen,  Ink,  &  this 
sheet  of  paper  before  me,  intending  to  dedicate  an 
hour  in  writing  to  thee.  S.  Jones  never  shewed  me 
our  letter  till  yesterday  after  our  afternoon  meeting  I 
insisted  on  her  accompanying  me  home.  At  first  she 
refused  But  on  a  little  pressing  consented.  We  had  a 
good  deal  of  Chat  about  one  thing  or  other.  She  says 
she's  most  dreadful  lonesome  without  thee.  I  tell  her 
she  did  not  value  thee  enough  when  she  had  thy 
Company  But  she  will  not  allow  of  this 


190  Letters   to          [Jan.  17 

Does  thee  not,  my  dear,  want  to  return  to  the 
City  ?  I  long  with  impatience  to  see  thee.  But  alas  ! 
our  Philadelphia  is  not  as  it  used  to  be.  You  can 
scarce  walk  a  square  without  seeing  the  shocking  sight 
of  a  Cart  with  five  or  Six  Coffins  in  it.  Oh  !  it  is 
too  dreadful  a  scene  to  Attempt  to  describe.  The  poor 
Creatures  die  without  number.  Large  pits  are  dug  in 
the  negroes  burying  ground,1  —  and  forty  or  fifty 
coffins  are  put  in  the  same  hole 2  This  is  really  true 
I  do  not  exaggerate  Indeed,  under  these  circum 
stances,  I  should  think  it  is  sin  to  do  it.  The  well 
soldiers  are  Quartered  on  private  families.  This  is  a 
great  hardship.  We  have,  as  yet,  escaped,  and  I  hope 
we  shall.3  But  I  will  drop  this  mournful  subject, 
though  my  mind  is  full  of  it. 

Nancy  &  Polly  Pleasants  are  gone  home ;  but 
Molly  intends  to  stay  with  her  sister.  Nancy  went 
with  great  reluctance  she  had  made  many  agreeable 
Acquaintances  in  town  and  I  do  not  wonder  that  she 
was  unwilling  to  leave  them.  She  spent  an  afternoon 
with  me  before  she  left  town.  J.  Mifflin  came  in 

1  Located  in  what  is  now  Washington  Square. 

2  She    evidently   refers   to   the   burial   of   soldiers    who    died    in 
Pennsylvania  Hospital  and  other  places  in  the  city  from  the  effects 
of  the  recent  campaign  in  New  Jersey. 

3  Elizabeth  Drinker,  another  Quaker  journalist  of  Philadelphia, 
was  less  fortunate  ;  she  notes  in  her  Journal,  page  43,  under  date 
of  January  25,  1777:      "We  had   5  American  soldiers  quartered 
upon  us,  by  order  ye  Council  of  Safety." 


1777]  Sally   Wister  191 

before  we  drank  tea  ;  he  was  acquainted  with  a  Cousin 
of  hers  in  Mary  Land  and  I  fancy  with  her,  for  they 
were  very  Sociable  he  asked  her  when  she  returned 
home.  She  sighed,  and  said,  "very  soon,'*  she  said 
it  was  almost  like  being  buried  alive. 
He  answered  in  a  line  of  Pope's, 

"  To  harmless  plain-work,  &  to  croaking  rooks." 

He  forgot  the  rest,  so  I  helped  him  out  with  — 

"  Old-fashioned  Hall,  dull  Aunts,  &  goodly  books." 

She  smiled,  and  something  else  that  I  don't 
remember  changed  the  discourse.  Sally  Burge l  has 
asked  me  to  come  and  see  her 

I  would  go  if  S.  J.  would  go  with  me,  But  she  has 
refused,  she  says  S  B  has  never  returned  her  visit. 
She  was  with  me  one  day  when  S.  B.  asked  me  when 
I  intended  to  come,  and  turning  to  S.  Jones,  said  verry 
formally,  "  Will  you  come  Sally  Jones  ?  "  I  shall  be 
glad  to  see  you,  Sail  told  her  she  had  never  tho't  it 
worth  while  to  return  her  visit.  "  It  was  no  visit," 
she  said.  S.  J.  insisted  that  it  was  and  so  the  affair 
stands  between  them  ; 


1  SARAH  COATES  BURGE,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Beulah 
(Shoemaker)  Burge,  was  born  November  13,  1761,  and  died 
September  14,  1824  She  was  married  November  13,  1783,  to 
William  Rawle,  a  distinguished  lawyer  of  Philadelphia,  only  son 
of  Francis  Rawle,  by  his  wife  Rebecca  Warner,  and  brother  of 
Anna  and  Margaret  Rawle.  He  was  born  April  28,  1759,  and 
died  April  12,  1836.  —  Keith,  "Councillors,"  255-257. 


Letters   to  Dan   27 


They  tell  me  Peggy  1  is  vastly  improved  since  she 
wore  a  roller.  I  have  had  but  a  glance,  from  which  I 
could  form  no  Judgment.  But  I  do  not  think  Sally  is 
much  improved  by  the  Alteration. 

Accept  of  my  Sincere  Congratulations  on  the 
recovery  of  thy  dear  Brother  &  sister.  I  was  very 
uneasy  until  I  heard  Johnny  was  out  of  danger.  I 
hope  the  dear  little  fellow  will  not  be  marked.  They 
have,  indeed,  been  favored,  and  I  hope  Divine  Provi 
dence,  that  has  brought  them  thus  far  out  of  a  dangerous 
disease,  may  still  continue  to  protect  them,  and  every 
one  of  you.  I  have  Scrawl'  d  thee  a  long  letter  my  dear 
but  I  cannot  Conclude  it  without  telling  thee  that  last 
time  we  heard  from  my  dear  Cousin  P.  Dickinson  she 
and  her  little  Sally  were  well.  I  hope  to  see  her  some 
time  in  next  month  ;  she  is  very  dear  to  me,  and  what 
lays  near  our  hearts  we  cannot  help  communicating  to 
those  we  love. 

The  inclosed  little  excursion  I  desire  thee  not  to 
show  to  anybody  ;  it  was  the  product  of  a  leisure 
moment,  and  has  never  been  corrected. 


1  PEGGY  or  MARGARET 
RAWLE,  daughter  of  Francis 
and  Rebecca  (Warner) 
Rawle,  was  born  in  Phila 
delphia  in  1760,  and  died  there  August  25,  1831.  She  was 
married  there  November  14,  1786,  to  Isaac  Wharton,  of  Phila 
delphia  and  "  Woodford,"  merchant.  He  died  March  31,  1808. 
—Glenn's  "  Some  Colonial  Mansions." 


Mrs.   Isaac  Whaitbn   ,"" 
"  Peggy  Rawle^V 


1777]  Sally   Wister  193 

Mammy  asked  me  if  I  was  a  going  to  write  to  thee. 
Upon  my  answering  in  the  affirmative  she  desired  me 
to  give  her  kind  love,  in  which  I  heartily  Join  her,  to 
Friend  Foulke,  thy  good  Mammy,  Priscilla  &  Liddy, 
Betsy  Wister,  and  to  thee  my  dear  Sally  I  have  not 
heard  a  word  from  P  Fishbourn  ;  if  thee  writes  give 
my  affectionate  remembrance  to  her 

I  shall  never  forget  you  Remember  me,  and  write 
Soon,  my  dear  girl,  if  thee  is  not  affraid  of  receiving 
another  long  tedious  scrawl  from  thy  affectionate  and 
faithful  ffriend, 

D.  NORRIS. 


Began    to   write    at    ii    finished   by  twelve,    on 
Second-day  morning  27th  of  January,  1777. 


194  Letters   to  [j> 


FROM    DEBORAH    NORRIS 
II. 

[No    date,    but    evidently    written    in   1778   shortly  before  the 
Wisters  returned  to  Philadelphia.] 


How  pleasing  was  my  dear  Sally's  letter  to  me, 
Believe  me,  if  I  was  to  forfeit  the  least  grain  of  thy 
friendship  I  should  be  most  unhappy  —  Continue,  my 
dear  Girl,  to  love  one  who's  greatest  Felicity  it  is  to  be 
beloved,  for  what  balm  has  this  life  to  give  us,  but  the 
Sweet  cement  of  Souls  ?  May  this  Strengthen  and 
increase  amongst  us,  for  it  breathes  and  tastes  of 
heaven.  I  shall  write  with  freedom.  The  Event 
that  has  lately  taken  place  astonishes  me  the  more,  as  1 
reflect  the  more  on  it.  I  had  heard  of  it  some  weeks 
before  it  happened,  but  I  was  incredulous  untill  I  was 
told  by  the  Captain  who  livd  with  us  that  it  was 
actually  to  be  ;  I  could  no  longer  doubt,  but,  Oh 
Sally,  all  that  has  occurred  Since,  thee  shall  not  be 
unacquainted  with. 

I  intreat  thee,  by  our  friendship,  not  to  enter  on 
any  Political  disquisitions  with  us  ;  it  is  not  our  prov 
ince,  and  will  only  serve  to  create  disagreeable 
sensations. 

I  long  to  see  thee,  to  embrace  thee,  and  to  assure 
thee  of  my  love.  Tell  me  in  answer  to  this,  that  it 


1778]  Sally   Wister  195 

will  be  but  a  short  space  of  time  before  I  shall  enjoy 
this  pleasure. 

I  am  going  to  prepare  thee  for  a  sight  of  me,  by 
telling  thee  that  I  am  a  tall,  brown  Girl.  Two 
months  ago,  thee  wd  have  seen  me  in  the  best  height 
of  my  plumpness.  Now  I  am  rather  thinner,  though 
not  more  delicate. 

Thy  comparing  our  friend  Sally  to  a  garden,  is 
inimitable.  She  is  really  what  thee  describes  her  to  be 
—  naturally  amiable,  and  possesed  of  much  goodness 
of  heart  Comparing  her  foibles  to  a  few  delicate 
weeds,  is  what  I  cannot  sufficiently  admire,  because  it 
is  my  own  Idea,  that  I  knew  not  how  to  clothe, 
dressed  by  thee  in  the  most  refined  expressions.  And 
then,  my  dear  Girl,  I  have  seen  weeds  so  delicate  that 
they  might  be  taken  for  more  valuable  plants  by 
unskillful  people.  I  believe  the  Gardner  upon  proper 
application,  wd  either  remove  them,  or  so  cultivate 
them  that  they  shd  become  flowers.  It  is  very  true, 
we  are  none  without  our  faults.  Indeed  merely  to 
own  this  is  nothing,  but  to  endeavour  to  amend  them  in 
ourselves  and  others  is  truly  noble. 

She,  Sally,  I  mean,  has  not  seen  thy  letter  to  me 
yet,  So  I  dont  know  what  she  will  say  though  I  must 
do  her  the  justice  to  acknowledge  that  she  had  heard 
previous  to  what  she  said  to  O  F1  and  Prissa2  that  thee 

1  Owen  Foullce. 

2  Priscilla  Foulke. 


196  Letters   to  [June  ? 

hd  said,  "If  it  had  happened  that  thee  had  come  to 
town  whilst  the  British  Army  were  here,  thee  would 
have  taken  no  notice  of  any  of  them  ;  even  had  they 
been  of  her  Acquaintance."  Now  had  thee  have 
come,  and  behaved  thyself  in  this  manner,  thee  would 
not  have  answered  the  amiable  character  I  had  given 
thee,  but  I  am  sure  thee  could  not  have  said  this  or 
thee  would  Err,  as  thee  says,  in  the  same  way  as  thee 
blamed  others  for. 

There  is  a  Certain  person  talks  a  great  deal  about 
thee,  merely  because  he  hears  us  talk,  for  he  has  never 
seen  thee.  He  told  me  the  other  day  he  hoped  I 
would  soon  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  my  friend 
Sally  Wister  ;  I  told  him  I  expected  I  soon  shd  have 
that  happiness.  Now  does  thee  not  want  to  know 

who  it  is  ?  Why,  it  is  C.  L does  thee  not 

remember  what  thee  wrote  to  me  last  winter  ;  thee 
could  not  I  am  sure  have  believed  such  a  tale 

We  have  an  anecdote  to  tell  thee  when  we  meet, 
indeed  we  have  a  thousand.  Our  tete-a-tete,  I  fancy, 
will  be  very  interesting.  I  have  no  idea  but  that  thee 
wishes  to  see  us  as  ardently  as  we  do  to  see  thee. 
Do  contrive  to  shorten  the  10  days 

We  have  been  much  engaged  in  cleaning  the  house 
for  we  expect  Cousin  P.  Dickinson1  up  every  day  — 

1  POLLY  or  MARY  DICKINSON,  wife  of  the  celebrated  John 
Dickinson  of  the  Revolution.  She  was  born  July  17,  1740,  a 
daughter  of  Isaac  and  Sarah  (Logan)  Norris,  and  a  granddaughter 
of  James  Logan. — Keith,  "  Councillors." 


Sally   Wister  197 

tis  a  work  I  like  when  it  is  over.  Polly  Fishburn 
called  here  2  days  since.  She  looked  well  and 
hearty. 

I  think  thy  sister  is  much  improved.  She  is  a  fine, 
genteel  Girl  ;  not  quite  so  tall  as  my  Ladyship.  We 
make  Sally  Jones  appear  diminutive  ;  not  in  her  own 
eyes,  however.  I  have  a  very  bad  cold  thee  will  not 
think  I  am  in  very  bad  spirits  by  the  writing  or  rather 
Style  of  this  letter  but  they  have  been  depressed,  and 
very  low  ;  the  thought  of  seeing  thee  soon  has  been 
delicious  to  me. 

I  have  this  instant  heard  that  there  is  an  Engagement 
in  the  Jerseys.  When  this  is  the  case,  we  think  of  all 
whom  we  know. 

My  Mammy  presents  her  affectionate  love  to 
you,  as  does  her  good-for-nothing  daughter. 

Adieu,  my  dear,  till  we  meet,  which  I  earnestly 
wish  may  be  shortly  ;  until  then  a  tender  adieu  thy 

ARDELIA  or 

D.   NORRIS 


Sixth   Day   Noon. 

I  shall  give  thy  love  to  Molly  Pleasants,  who  is  a 
dear  Girl,  and  I  return  thee  hers  for  I  know  she  loves 
thee.  Adieu,  my  dear  Creature,  Ease  us  of  our  anxiety 
and  come  soon,  next  week,  we  shall  positively  expect 
thee. 


198  Letters   to          [Feb.  27 


FROM    DEBORAH   NORRIS 
III. 

February   27,    1779. 

Endorsed  :   "  Sally  Wister." 

I  wish  I  could  send  my  amiable  friend  as  delightful 
a  letter  as  she  has  favored  me  with  ;  it  was  just  such  as 
I  love,  and  made  me  exclaim  as  thee  once  did,  "  Sure 
our  Souls  are  congenial ' '  The  long  acquaintance  that 
I  have  had  with  you,  makes  you  inexpressibly  dear  to 
me.  I  shall  never  cultivate  any  new  friendship  com 
parable  with  that  heartfelt  one  I  entertain  for  you  —  it 
is  no  common  attachment,  but  a  harmony,  a  cement 
of  soul  that  binds  our  union.  We  were  early 
acquainted. 

I  sometimes  take  a  retrospective  view  of  the 
happy  days  of  our  childhood,  l  OUT  school-day  friend 
ship,  and  always  recall  the  idea  with  pleasure.  The 
visionary  Swains,  my  dear,  are  just  such  as  my 
romantic  fancy  has  often  painted.  But  when  will  they 
make  their  appearance  ?  and  what  are  their  names  ?  are 
questions  nobody  can  answer  I  desire  my  dear  that  I 

1  The  writer  was  now  in  her  eighteenth  year. 


1779]  Sally   Wister  199 

may  be  very  early  consulted,  and  be  assured  that  thee 
shall,  you  shall  have  no  cause  to  blame  me  for  reserve, 
it  is  no  part  of  my  character  with  you  I  hope. 

Our  fair  Virginian  has  not  paid  her  female  friends  a 
compliment,  I  think  —  but  the  Doctor,  The  gay,  the 
alert  Doctor  What  a  pity  he  does  not  try  to  get 
admitted  into  the  Social  circle.  He  would  be  an 
agreeable  member,  I  think.  We  would  undertake  to 
cure  him  of  his  Superfluous  exclamations. 

Thy  mischievous  sister  has  set  me  all  agig  to  know 
what  he  said  about  you.  I  declare,  I  would  give  a 
Continental  dollar  to  know  what  it  was  !  and  shall  be 
uneasy  whenever  I  think  of  it  until  my  curiosity  is 
gratified. 

John  Mifflin  l  has  wrote  me  a  letter  just  in  the  Same 
style  as  his  conversation.  He  says  that  thee  is  a  good 
Soul  and  he  wishes  all  the  ladies  of  his  acquaintance 
were  as  good  humored  as  thee  and  not  misinterpret  his 
rattling  expression  as  to  his  sayings  about  me  I  can  let 
them  pass  you  need  not  have  a  better  hand  to  spirit 
you  up  a  little  to  mischief  than  himself.  But  he 
possesses  good-nature  with  all  his  useful  talent  for 
raillery. 

1John  Fishbourne  Mifflin,  son  of  John  and  Sarah  (Fishbourne) 
Mifflin,  was  born  April  ai,  1759,  was  graduated  from  College  of 
Philadelphia,  in  1775,  an<^  practiced  law  in  Philadelphia.  He 
was  married,  June  1 8,  1788,  to  Clementina,  daughter  of  John 
Ross,  of  Philadelphia.  His  death  occurred  May  13,  1818. — 
Keith,  "  Provincial  Councillors,"  363. 


200  Letters   to          [Feb.  27 

Peter  Lloyd's1  promotion  has  disappointed  us  of 
a  visit  this  winter. 

«<  'Tis  an  ill- wind  that  blows  nobody  no  good." 
The  fracas  between  Deane,*  Common  sense,3  and 
the  committee,  has  let  an  office  fall,  but  I  am  vexd 
that  Peter  and  Joesy  did  not  visit  S  Jones's  first. 

I  am  amazed  that  Miss  Stocker  is  called  a  Beauty 
We  have  a  chance  for  it  now,  I  think 

I  am  very  glad  to  hear  of  Alexis'  recovery.  If  I 
should  be  a  Bridesmaid  (which  I  much  question)  and 
he  a  Bridesman,  we  shall  be  very  well  acquainted,  I 
suppose — but  ye  wedding  will  be  insipid  if  you  are  not 
of  the  number  of  the  guests. 

If  thee  thinks  of  taking  a  trip  to  N  Wales  do  defer 
it  until  my  return,  and  we  will  try  to  have  a  Party. 
I  am  extremely  obliged  to  Lavinia  for  her  letters  the 
prospect  of  her  return  to  ye  circle,  is  very  agreeable  to 
me  —  I  will  write  to  her. 


1  PETER  ZACHARY  LLOYD,  son  of  Peter  and  Mercy  (Masters) 
Lloyd,  born  August  23,  1750,  became  a  Captain  in  Colonel  Atlee's 
Pennsylvania  Musket  Battalion,  March  15,  1776,  and  Brigade 
Major  to  General  Ewing,  August  II,  1776.  For  several  years  he 
was  Clerk  to  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly.  —  Keith,  "Coun 
cillors,"  22,  ;  "  Pa.  in  Revolution,"  I.  250  ;  Heitman. 

8  Silas  Deane. 

'Thomas  Paine,  who  wrote  under  the  nont-de-plume  of  "Com 
mon  Sense."  This  refers  to  his  attack  upon  Silas  Deane  in  the 
Philadelphia  newspapers  in  1778-1779.  See  Moncure  D. 
Conway's  "  Writings  of  Thomas  Paine,"  Vol.  I. 


1779]  Sally   Wister  201 

I   blush   to   send   thee   such   a   poor  return  for  thy 
delightful  favors.      Do  let   the  number  of  my  corres 
pondents  plead  some  excuse  for 
Thine, 

D.  NORRIS. 

27th  feby  1779. 


202  Letters   to          [>iy  28 


FROM    PEGGY    RAWLE 
I. 

July  28,    [1776] 

Endorsed  : 

"To 
SALLY  WISTER 

in 
Germantown  ' ' 

July  28 

I  Received  your  letter,  my  dear,  by  Sally  Jones  last 
evening  and  I  hope  you  will  acknowledge  I  have  begun 
early  to  return  it.  Reading  thy  Description  of  your 
walk  I  almost  fancied  myself  with  you.  The  grove  is 
a  sweet  Place  ;  I  earnestly  long  for  the  Pleasure  of 
walking  to  it  with  thee  and  our  Amiable  friend.  I 
flatter  myself  it  wont  be  long  before  I  Partake  that 
Pleasure  with  you.  how  agreeable  is  your  Situation, 
and  how  much  the  reverse  is  mine.  You  out  of  the 
noise  of  the  town  in  the  coole,  the  silent  shades,  — 
an  agreeable  company  very  near,  Sweet  walks  ;  you 
enjoy  these  Charming  Moonlight  evenings.  For  my 
part  I  never  was  so  lonesome  in  my  life  as  I  am  now. 
I  set  at  the  door  by  myself,  not  a  Creature  to  speak  to. 
I  know  I  shall  have  your  Pity,  which  is  one  Comfort. 


1776]  Sally   Wister  203 

I  have  been  looking  over  your  letter  and  am  really 
ashamed  of  this  —  Such  a  collection  of  Pens  nobody 
ever  was  Pleged  with  !  but  I  ought  not  to  blame  the 
Pens,  for  the  Spelling  and  wording,  but  my  own  stupid 
head  that  can  Produce  nothing  Better.  I  am  very 
warm,  which  is  another  excuse,  stoved  up  in  our  little 
libary  with  the  door  locked  to  keep  my  Troublesom 
little  Brother  out,  but  perhaps  you  think  I  deserve  it 
for  not  being  at  meeting  this  afternoon.  I  was  there 
in  the  morning  and  had  not  the  least  inclination  to  go 
again. 

As  to  Polly  Fishbourn  and  her  letter,  I  give  them 
up.  She  has  not  Proved  herself  a  girl  of  her  word  ; 
how'er  Give  my  love  to  her  in  your  next  and  tell  her 
I  shall  Remember  her,  tho  she  has  forgot  me.  Do  let 
me  have  another  letter  very  soon 

Adieu,  my  dear  Sally, 

PEGGY  RAWLE 

I  forgot  to  tell  you  my  Surprise  at  seeing  you  Cross 
Arch  Street  and  never  think  it  worth  your  wile  to 
come  so  little  away  to  see  me.  I  thought  it  could  not 
be  you  ;  its  very  well,  I  should  not  have  served  you 
so.  I  should  look  on  it  as  a  very  great  favour  if  you 
would  not  show  this  to  any  Creature  unless  it  was 
P  F 1  not  D  N  2  for  the  world  Once  more  I  bid  you 
Adieu 

PEGGY  RAWLE 

1  Polly  Fishbourne.  2  Deborah  Norris. 


204  Letters   to  [Sept.  -/ 


FROM    PEGGY   RAWLE 
II. 

September  7,    1776. 

Endorsed  :   "To 

SALLY  WISTER 

in 
Germantown ' ' 

September  7,    1776. 

May  the  Pleasures  of  the  town  be  equal  to  those  of 
the  Country,  is  the  kind  wish  you  close  your  letter  with; 
but  that  cannot  be  to  one  who  Prefers  the  Country  so 
much  to  the  town  as  I  do.  I  almost  envy  every 
boddy  that  is  agreeably  situated  in  the  Country,  nor  is 
it  to  be  wondered  at  since  I  Past  some  of  the  most 
agreeable  Parts  of  my  Life  at  Laurel  Hill.  Nine  or 
Ten  Summers  I  Past  there,  the  Remembrance  of 
which  is  still  dear  to  me,  and  makes  me  regret  Passing 
them  any  were  el's.  You  ask  me  in  your  Letter  why 
I  am  so  averse  to  your  shewing  my  Letters  to  Debby 
Norris.  You  say  she  is  not  one  of  those  girls  who 
make  illnatured  Remarks.  No,  my  dear,  I  have  not 
the  least  Reason  to  imagine  she  is.  but  I  had  rather 


1776]          Sally   Wister  205 

nobody  should  see  them  but  yourself,  but  to  D  N, 
who  writes  so  well  herself,  mine  must  appear  silly. 

S  B l  tells  me  you  have  at  last  heard  from  your 
friend.  I  am  much  Pleas' d  to  hear  she  intends  for 
Town.  I  think  it  is  a  most  time  she  has  made  a  long 
visit.  I  want  much  to  see  her.  I  shall  be  Glad  when 
we  get  together  again,  us  Girls,  I  mean,  for  as  to  the 
boys  I  fancy  we  must  Give  them  up  willingly.  I 
shall  nor  have  I  the  most  distant  desire  of  being  with 
them  again.  I  think  we  Pass  our  time  more  agreeably 
without  than  with  them. 

I  was  at  the  door  tother  evening  with  Anny  a  when 
J  P  came  up.  I  was  amaz'd  to  see  him,  you  may 
suppose.  It  was  very  dark.  I  should  not  have  known 
him,  but  for  the  Peculiar  cock  of  his  hat,  but  you 
know  my  dear  his  whole  appearance  is  very  Singular. 
My  Brother  was  out,  so  he  did  not  stay  many 
Minutes. 

I  wish  you  were  coming  to  town.  How  much 
longer  are  you  going  to  stay  ?  SB  tells  me  they  are 
not  coming  this  Month.  Great  disappointment  to  me 

1  Sally  Burge. 

2  ANNA  RAWLE,  daughter  of  Francis  and    Rebecca   (Warner) 
Rawle,    was  born   in    Philadelphia,   October   30,    1757,  and  was 
married  September   16,    1783,   to  John  Clifford,   of   Philadelphia 
and  "Clifford   Farm,"   merchant.       He  died  in   October,  1811, 
and  she  died  in  July,  i8a8.      Interesting  diaries  and  letters  that 
she  and  her  sister  Margaret  wrote  during  the  Revolution  are  still 
preserved. — Glenn's  "Some  Colonial  Mansions." 


206  Letters   to  [Sept.  7 

as  I  expected  them  much  sooner.  Selfish  Girl  you 
say.  So  fond  of  the  Country  yourself  yet  so  unwilling 
your  friends  should  enjoy  it.  Cant  be  help'd,  my 
dear,  tis  the  too  much  the  way  of  the  world  to  prefer 
your  own  Pleasure  to  that  of  other  People. 

It  is  much  the  Practice  to  make  excuses  for  Letters 
wether  Necessary  or  not,  that  I  will  let  it  alone. 
Let  this  speak  for  itself  tho  there  never  was  one 
required  it  more. 

I  thought  when  I  sat  down  to  write  it  I  would  try 
to  do  it  well  but  am  allways  in  a  hurry  to  be  done  — 
no  Patience  —  dont  you  see  how  strait  its  wrote.  Do 
write  very  soon  to  your 

Affectionate 

PEGGY  RAWLE. 


1776?]         Sally   Wister  207 


FROM    POLLY   FISHBOURNE 

[Latter  part  of   1776?] 

Endorsed  : 

"  SALLY  WISTER 

Philadelphia." 

On  fourth  day  evening  I  received  a  large  Packet  of 
letters  from  my  Friends  in  Philad,  but  was  much  sur- 
pris'd  at  seeing  none  from  my  dear  Sally  and  not  even 
so  much  as  send  her  love  in  Eliza's  letter.  I  Could 
not  account  for  it,  but  I  judge  kindly  of  thee  for  all 
thy  seeming  neglect.  But  on  fifthday  morn  John 
Rutter  waited  on  us  and  delivered  thy  kind  letter. 
Thy  spirits,  my  dear  friend,  appear  to  be  very  low. 
I  think  if  thee  Could  put  thy  jaunt  in  execution  to 
Northwales  it  would  be  of  great  service  to  thee,  tho 
at  this  time  it  would  not  be  proper. 

Yes,  my  dear  lovely  friend,  thy  joys  are  mine  and  I 
do  most  sensibly  participate,  but  the  cheifest  of  thy 
joys,  and  the  greatest  source  from  which  they  spring,  I 
am  deprived  of.  But  I  must  submit  and  not  repine  ; 
I  find  I  have  yet  many  ties  to  this  world,  —  three  of 
the  best  sisters  and  lov'd  mother  and  many  other  kind 
and  dear  relatives  and  friends,  that  I  find  have  a  great 
hold  on  my  affections.  But  some  time  ago,  I  thought 


Letters   to 


I  Could  willingly  have  resigned  them  all,  but  with  my 
returning  health  and  Ease  of  mind,  I  feel  myself  more 
attached  to  this  world. 

I  often  think,  my  dear  Sally,  of  our  Conversation 
the  evening  before  I  left  town,  in  which  thee  told  me, 
thee  hoped  I  should  return  as  much  of  a  friend  as  I 
left  thee.  I  assure  thee  I  shall,  my  Sentiments  is  by 
no  means  altered,  tho  all  my  Companions  are  of  a 
different  Society  ;  there  are  but  very  few  friends  here, 
but  I  attend  meetings  on  first  days,  and  make  use  of 
the  plain  language  ;  and  indeed  some  of  my  friends 
Calls  me  a  preacher,  but  that  I  do  not  mind,  fully 
satisfied  I  am  in  my  duty. 

Poor  T.  H—  p—  h—  11  !  I  sincerely  feel  for  him  ;  yes, 
my  dear,  as  a  fellow  Creature  he  Claims  our  sympathy. 
I  think  it  a  most  Cruel  part  they  act  by  not  telling  him 
his  danger.  They  do  not  act,  as  friends  that  keep  it 
from  him.  I  wish  he  may,  poor  fellow,  be  favoured 
to  see  his  danger,  and  be  enabled  to  make  his  peace 
before  hes  Called  hence,  for  I  believe  it  to  be  an  awful 
solemn  change  and  how  must  they  feel  who  are  sliding 
insensibly  into  the  grave  without  one  thought  of  an 
hereafter. 

We  are  this  day  invited  to  dine  with  Polly  Rutter, 
but  I  Could  not  go  without  having  a  little  chat  with 
my  dear  Sally,  adieu  for  the  present. 

Six  day  morn  —  I  informed  my  dear  SalJy  I  was 
going  to  dine  out,  which  accordingly  did  and  spent  a 
very  agreeable  day.  The  next  day  dind  at  sammy 


1776?]          Sally   Wister  209 

pots  where  I  made  an  acquaintance  with  one  of  the 
most  agreeable  and  sensible  young  fellows,  so  polite 

and  attentive  his  name  must  be  the (?)  which 

Nath.  He  is  engaged  to  be  married  to  one  of  the 
hubberts,  and  I  have  no  hopes  of  Conquering  his  heart  ; 
and  you  are  all  out  in  your  presentiments  Concerning 
my  geting  an  admirer. 

How  often  do  I  wish  for  my  dear  Sally,  to  be  with 
me.  I  feel  so  perfectly  restored  to  my  health  that  I 
shall  soon  want  to  come  home.  Present  my  best  love 
to  thy  dear  mother,  friend  Wister,  and  all  the  family, 

Believe  me  thine  with  true  affection 

POLLY  FISHBOURNE 
Potsgrove  *  second  day  morning 


1  Now  Pottstown. 


210  Inventory  [Oct.  9 

A    JUST    AND    TRUE 

INVENTORY 

of  all  and  Singular  the  goods  and  Chatties 
Rights  and  Credits  of  the  Personal  Estate 
of  William  Foulke  late  of  Gwynedd  Town 
ship  in  the  County  of  'Philadelphia ,  Deceased. 
Appraised  the  ninth  day  of  the  tenth 
month  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  One 
Thousand  Seven  Hundred  &  Seventy 
five,  by  us  whose  names  are  Hereunto 
Subscribed 

Cash  and  wearing  aparrell 5  5  1 1      3 

I    Feather    Bed,    Furniture    &    Window 

Curtains       18  o 

I  pair  of  Drawers  &  Dressing  Table    .    .  410 

6  Rush  Bottom  Chairs i  4 

i  Looking  Glass o  i  5 

I  Warming  Pan o  10 

1 2  Napkins o  1 5 

3  Table  Cloths I  10 

I  Table  Cloth  &  Six  Napkins  (tow)  .    .  o  10 
I    Feather    Bed    Furniture     &    Window 

Curtains  1 6  o 


William   Foulke 


i  Looking  Glass      .........  35 

i  Oval  Table      ..........  15 

i   Tea  Table  ...........  015 

I  Couch  and  Bed    .........  lio 

3  Arm,  &  Six  Rush  Bottom  Chears     .    .  I    19 
Sundry  Pewter     ..........  ^    17 

i  Tea  Kettle  &  Chafing  Dish       ....  15 

Sundry  Flatt  Irons  .........  °     4 

I  pair  Candlesticks       ........  °      5 

Sundry  knives  &  forks      .......  076 

Tea  Spoons  &  Tongs  ........  i    10 

China  &  Delf  wares    ........  i    14 

Glass  wares     ...........  °     9 

I  pair  And  Irons      .........  o    1  5 

I  Riding  Chaise  Harness  &c     .....  10     o 

i  Spoted  Cow     .....     .....  410 

I  Black  Mare      ..........  60 

I  Family  Bible  &  Sundry  small  Books      .  346 

I  Feather  Bed  &  Bed  Cloaths       ....  90 

I  Small    .    .    .  ditto    ........  3    10 

I  Walnut  Desk    ..........  4     o 

4  Rush  Bottom  Chears     .......  012 

i  Small  Looking  Glass     .......  026 

4  Table  Cloths  &  6  Napkins  .....  117 

1  Pair  Flaxen  Sheets    ........  015 

2  Pair  Tow    .    .    .    ditto    ......  o    16 

I  pair  Tow  Sheets  .........  o     4 

3  pair  Pillow  Cases  &  i  Bolster  Case  .    .  07 
3  Pillow  Cases  &  i  Bolster  Case      ...  05 


212  Inventory  [Oct.  9 


3  Tow  Sheets      

i 

o 

2  Old  Coverlids       

o 

15 

i  Red  &  White  d°  

o 

7 

6 

I  Black  and  White  d°       

o 

7 

6 

I  Feather  Bed,  Bed  Stead  &  Cloths     .    . 

6 

0 

i  Cart     

6 

0 

I  Old  Timber  Wagon      

4 

10 

i  Waggon  

9 

0 

2  Plows  &  Swingle  Trees     

i 

18 

I  Harrow    

i 

o 

I  Sleigh  

i 

5 

Plank  for  Fellies  

o 

10 

i  Winnowing  Mill       

2 

0 

i  Cuting  Box       

0 

12 

Wheat  on  the  Straw     

5° 

0 

Rye  on  the  Straw    

4 

0 

Oats  on  the  Straw  ,     

3 

15 

Indian  Corn  on  the  ground       

14 

o 

All  the  Hay  in  the  Barn       

4° 

0 

i  2  Cow  Chains  

o 

18 

Flax  unbroke  

i 

o 

Indian  Corn  in  the  Mill  

o 

IO 

i  Small  writing  Disk  in  d°    

o 

3 

9 

Oak  Plank  ...      •    

0 

7 

6 

Oak  Boards      

I 

2 

6 

Gum  Boards    .     .     .    .     

o 

9 

Flour  Casks     

I 

0 

I 

2 

Cyder  VesseUs     

I 

IO 

i?75]       William    Foulke  213 

Oak  Boards 012 

i  Weavers  Loom  &  Gears 3      ° 

I  Six  Plate  Stove  with  Pipes    .     «    .    .     .  310 

20  sheep 80 

i  Black  Horse 80 

i  Black  Mare 10     o 

i  Spring  Colt 60 

I  Sorrell  Mare 14      o 

I  Small  brown  Mare  £  Colt 10      o 

i  Stone  Colt 20     o 

8  Swine       13      o 

7  Milch  Cows 28      o 

i  Beef   .    .    .    ditto 3    1 5 

1  pair  Working  Oxen 15      o 

2  Steers 7      o 

1  Bullock 7    10 

Horse  Gears 3      5 

Hough's,  Shovells,  Spade  &  Forks    ...  i      4 

2  Weeding  Houghs  &  Spade °      3 

I  Mans  Saddle  &  Bridle i    10 

I     ...    old    ...    ditto 012 

i  Bed  &  Bed  Cloths 4    10 

i  Trunk      °      5 

i  Bed  &  Beding 60 

9  Yards  Tow  Linen 016      6 

4*^  Yards  Hugabag °      9 

A  Remnant  of  Tow  Linen 06 

5  Yards  Shalloon o    1 5 

i  pair  Low  Drawers i      o 


2I4  Inventory  [Oct.  9 

i  Chest o    10 

5  Chairs      012     6 

I  Spinning  wheel 012 

I  Long  wheel o    10 

i  Reel 04 

3  pair  old  Cards °      3 

I  Hatchell 076 

Glass  Bottles 06 

3  Old  Chairs 06 

I  Clock  &  Case 40 

i  Walnut  Oval  Table o    1 8 

I  Small    .    .    .    ditto       026 

6  Rush  Bottom  Chairs i      4 

i  Corner  Cubbard o    10 

i  ChafBed  &  Beding i    10 

I  ditto •    •  i    10 

i  Old  Chest 026 

Pewter  in  the  Kitchen i    1 1 

i  Brass  Kettle o    1 5 

I  Large  Iron  Pott o    i  5 

I  Old  Pott,  Kettle  &  Sauspan      ....  076 

1  Iron  Tea  Kettle 076 

2  Old  Frying  pans °     4 

Cedar  Vessells 0136 

Dough  Trough  &  Flour  Cask 036 

Old  Suttle  &  Table 076 

Knives  &  Forks °     5 

I  Old  Tea  Kettle,  Lanthern  &  3  Candlestick  076 

3  Flatt  Irons °      5 


1775]       William    Foulke  215 

i  pair  Saddle  Bags °      5 

I  Iron  Coffee  Mill o     4 

I  Desk  &  Oval  Table 40 

Dog  Irons  Shovl  Tongs  &c I      2 

I  Small  Iron  Kettle  &  Hooks °      3 

Table  Cloths  &  2  Wallets o    10 

8  Bags o    1 5 

Maul  Wedges  &  Old  Axes o    14 

Old  Bridles 05 

i  pair  Steel  yards °      3      9 

7  Kitchen  Chairs o      7 

Earthen  Ware °      5 

i  Sett  of  Thillers  Gears 076 

Wool  £  Worsted 35 

Sundry  Books 3      5      6 

I  Silver  Watch 6    10 

i  Cross  Cut  Saw o   10 

Sundry  Scythes  &  Sickles o    10 

1  Large  Cedar  Tub 07 

141^  Bushells  seed  wheat    .    .    4/6    .    .  4      5 

2  pair  Gold  Scales  &  weights o      5 

Sundry  Pieces  of  Antient  Coin     ....  019      6 

3  Open  end  Casks  5/  Maple  Boards  io/  015 

Malt  7/6  Flaxceed  20 /       176 

Sundry  Book  debts  Outstanding  ....  120    17      z 
Balance  of  the  Legacy  due  from  the  Estate 

of  John  Jones 146      6     4 

A  Bond 100     o 

Interest  due  thereon 8 


216               Inventory  [Oct.  9 

A  Bond 100  o 

Interest  due  thereon 2  4 

A  Bond 34  o 

Interest  due  thereon 01411 

A  Bond 50  o 

Interest  due  thereon i  5 


^1108   16     5 
JOHN  ROBERTS 
JOHN   EVANS 

John  Roberts  and  John  Evans  the  above  appraisers 
were  affirmed  to  the  foregoing  Inventory  &  Valuation 
by  them  made  Benj.  A.  Chew  Regg  Gen1. 


INDEX 

Aiman,  Charles   T., 75n 

Arnold,  General  Benedict, 184 

Benezet,  Anthony,   13,  1  Ion 

Bingham,  Nancy  Willing,    39 

Bingham,  -      — ,    39 

Bland,   Colonel,    164 

Bland's   regiment 71 

Bleddyn,  Owen,  Prince  of,  13 

Bond/  Nancy,  26;  sketch  of,  90 

Bowie,  Elizabeth    (Stoddert),    43,     89n 

Bowie,  Robert,    89n 

Brandy  wine,  battle  of, 5,     66n 

British  (army), 5,  65,  67,  74,  108,  109,  118 

Broadaxe,    119n 

Brodhead,  Colonel  Daniel,   148 

Brown,  Gustavus   Truman,    43,     87n 

Burge,  Beulah  Shoemaker,   191n 

Burge,  Samuel,   191n 

Burge,  Sarah  Coates, 15,  191,  205 

Call,   Captain,    174 

Camp  Hill  Station,    75n 

"  Caroline   Melmoth,"    141 

Cheseldine,   Kenelm,    85n 

Cheseldine,  Mary    (Gerard), .     85n 

Clagett,  Captain  Horatio,  sketch  of,   80 

Clifford,  Anna   (Rawle),   116n,  205n 

Clifford,  John,    205n 

Clough,  Major  Alexander,  164;  sketch  of,  ..166,  170 

Collins,  Emerson,    43 

Continental  Army,   66,  119,  120,  138 

Cornwallis,  General,    120n 

Correa,  Abbe,    118n 

Crawford,  Colonel.   99 

Dandridge,  Adam  Stephen 158n 

Dandridge,  Anne  (Stephen) ,  158n 

Dandridge,   Captain   Alexander   Spotswood, 

14,  16,  33,  34,  36,  153,  154,  155;  sketch  of, 

156,  157-170, 180 

Dandridge,  Captain  Nathaniel,   156n 

Dandridge,  Dorothea   (Spotswood) ,   157n 

Dates,  discrepancies  in,   67n,  102n,  139n 


2i 8  Journal   of  [index 

Deane,  Silas,    200 

Dickinson,  John,   117n,  196ii 

Dickinson,  Mary,  192n;  sketch  of,  > 196 

Diggs,  Cole,  sketch  of,  26,     93 

Diggs,  William,    93 

Dillwyn,  Susanna,    106n,  117n 

Dillwyn,  William,   106n,  117n 

Edge  Hill,  skirmish  at,   llln 

Edward  I.,  of  England,   12 

Edwards,  Dr.  Enoch,,  sketch  of,  68,  89,     96 

Edwards,   Major   Evan,    68 

Emerson,  Captain  Amos,  sketch  of,  152 

Emerson,  Susanna   (Morse),   152n 

Emlen,  Ann  (Reckless) ,  75n 

Emlen,  George,  Jr.,  sketch  of, 75,  141 

Emlen,  George,  Sr.,  75n 

Emlen  Mansion  at  Whitemarsh, 74n,  105,  139 

Emlen,  Sarah  (Fishbourne), 32,  140n,  141,  142 

Evan,  Evan  ap,  12 

Evans,  Ann,   12 

Evans,    Hugh,    12 

Evans,  Lowry  Williams,    12 

Evans,   Thomas,    12 

Finley,  Captain  Ebenezer,  sketch  of, 80,     86 

Fishbourne,  Benjamin,    140n 

Fishbourne,  Elizabeth,    140n 

Fishbourne,  Hannah, 140n 

Fishbourne,  Hannah    (Carpenter),    140n 

Fishbourne,  Mary   (Talman),  75n,  105n;   sketch 

of,  140,  141,  142,  176 

Fishbourne,  Mary,  or  Polly,  15,  32;   sketch  of, 

105,  113,  139,  140n,  143,  176,  180,  193,  197,  203 

Fishbourne,  Sarah,   140n 

Fishbourne,  Thomas,   140n 

Fishbourne,  William,   75n,   105n,  140n 

Fishbourne,  William,  Sr.,  140n 

Fishbourne,   William,   3d,    140n 

Flaidd,  Rhirid,   12,     19n 

Foulke,  Amos,    21 

Foulke,  Caleb,    68n,  184 

Foulke,  Edward,    19 

Foulke,  Hannah,  5,  19,  20,  110,  193 

Foulke,  Jane   (Jones) ,    68n 


index]  Sally   Wister  219 

Foulke,  Jesse,  sketch  of, 20,  69,  104,  110,  153 

Foulke,  Lydia,  20,  22;  sketch  of, 68,  74, 

91,  92,  95,  96,  97,  98,  99,  112,  113,  123,  128, 

151,   158,   177,   178,   180,   181,   193, 195 

Foulke,  Owen,  sketch  of, 68,  184,  195 

Foulke,  Priscilla,  20,  70n;  sketch  of, 76,  112, 

155,  156,  174,  177,  193 

Foulke,  William,   19. 

Fox,  Martha,    72n 

Franklin,   Benjamin,    118n 

Furnival,  Captain  Alexander,  25,  36,  79;  sketch 

of,    84,  88,  95 

Genet 118n 

Gerard,   Thomas,    85n 

Germantovvn,  battle  of,    73n,  109 

Germantown,  British  entry  into, 5 

Germantown,  evacuation  of,  74 

Gist,  Captain  Thomas,   92n 

Gist,  Colonel  Mordecai,  sketch  of,. 36,  92,  95,  99,  106 

Gist,  Susan  Cockey,  92n 

Gould,  Dr.  David,  sketch  of, 38,  77,  78,  86,  184 

Green,  F.  Potts,  Esq., 44,  105n 

Greenfield,  Martha  (Truman),   85n 

Greenfield,  Susanna    (Cheseldine),    85n 

Greenfield,  Thomas,    85n 

Greenfield,  Thomas  Truman,  85n 

Griffitts,  Abigail   (Powell),   106n 

Griffitts,  Dr.  Samuel  Powell,   106n,  140n 

Griffitts,  Mary    (Fishbourne),    140n 

Griffitts,  William,   106n 

Gwynedd,   5 

Gwynedd,  Owen,  Prince  of,    13 

Heitman,  Francis  B., 44 

Henry,  Patrick, 157n 

Hessfans,   67,  68 

Hill,  Mileah  Martha,  147 

Howard,  Captain,    143,  144 

Howe,  General,  army  of, 66n,  69,  108,  109 

Jameson,  Major  John,  sketch  of,...  143,  144,  174-178 

Jefferson.   Thomas,    118n 

Jenkins,  Howard  M.,   44 

Jones,  Captain  Cadwallader,  sketch  of, 150 

Jones.  Dr.  Edward,  11 


220  Journal     Of  [Index 

Jones,  Gainor  (Owen),  12 

Jones,  Hannah,   21 

Jones,  Hobson,    67 

Jones,  Jonathan,    11 

Jones,  Mary  ( Wynn) , U 

Jones,  Owen,    11 

Jones,  Sally,  15,  65,  180,  189,  197,  200,  202 

Jones,  Susanna   (Evans),   12 

"  Joseph  Andrews/'   141 

"  Juliet   Grenville,"    141 

Kosciusko,  118& 

Lacey,  Jane   (Chapman) ,  181n,  182 

Lacey,  General  John,  sketch  of, 181 

Lacey,  John,    181n 

Lady's  Magazine,    141 

Lee,  Lieutenant,    107,  108 

Lee's  troops,  71 

Leiper,  Elizabeth  (Smallwood) ,  86n 

Letherberry,  Major,   92,  99,  100,  106 

Lindsay,  Lieutenant  William,  sketch  of,    71 

Lipscomb,  Captain  Reuben, 29,  36,    121. 

123,  124,  129,  134,  137,  138.  139 

Lloyd,  Mercy  (Masters) ,  200n 

Lloyd,  Peter,  200n 

Lloyd,  Peter  Zachary,  sketch  of,   200 

Lloyd.   Thomas,    114n 

Logan,  Dr.  George,   116n 

Logan,  Hannah  (Emlen) , 116n 

Logan,   James,    116n  196n 

Logan,  William,   116n 

Lvne,  Colonel  George,  36,  80;   sketch  of, 

83,  86,  89,  91,  99,  106  107 

McDougle,  General,   68 

McKean,  Hannah   (Miles) ,  134n 

McKean,  Joseph  B.,  134n 

McKean,  Thomas,  134n 

Massey,  Rev.  Lee,   8?n 

Matson's  Ford   (Conshohocken) ,  H9n 

Maxwell,  Anne,   147 

Maxwell,  General  William,  sketch  of,  147 

Maxwell,  John,   147 

Meredith,  Evan,    105 

Mifflin,  Clementina  Ross, 


index]          Sally   Wister  221 

Mifflin,  John, 199n 

Mifflin,  John  Fishbourne,  190;   sketch  of, 199 

Mifflin,  Sarah   (Fishbourne)j  199n 

Miles,  Catharine   (Wister),   104n 

Miles,  Colonel  Samuel,  sketch  of, 104,  106 

Miles,  Hannah,  sketch  of, 134,  179 

Miles,  Susan,   44 

Mill,  the,    20,     69 

Moore,  Dr.  Charles,  sketch  of,  146 

Moore,  Margaret  Preston,  146 

Moore,  Milcah  Martha  (Hill),  147 

Moore,  Mr.,  166 

Moore,  Richard,    146 

Morris,   James,   Washington's    headquarters    at 

house  of,    74n 

Morse,  Captain  Abel,   152n 

Morse,   Susanna,    152n 

Moss,  Lieutenant  Henry,  sketch  of,  139 

Neal,  "  Caty,"   ". 39 

Nixon,  Captain  Andrew,  sketch  of,  174 

Norris,  Charles,    114n 

Norris,  Deborah,  sketch  of, 6,  7,  14,  15,  18, 

65,  114,  203,  204,  205 

Norris,  Isaac,    114n,  196n 

Norris,  Mary   (Parker),  114n,  193,  197 

Norris,  Sarah   (Logan) ,   196n 

North  Wales,   5 

Ogden,  Major  Aaron,  9;  sketch  of, 149 

Owen,  Prince  of  Gwynedd  and  of  Bleddyn,  ....     13 

Owen,  Rebecca   (Humphrey),   12 

Owen,  Robert,   12 

Paine,  Thomas,   200 

Paoli,  massacre  at,   66n 

Penllyn,  Rhirid  Flaidd,  Lord  of,   11,  12,     19n 

Penn  and  Logan  Correspondence,  118n 

Penn,  William,   12 

Pickering,  Timothy,    117n 

Pleasants,   Molly,  * 190,  197 

Pleasants,  Nancy,  190 

Pleasants,  Polly,    190 

Potts,  Samuel,   209 

Pottsgrove, 66 

Price   (ap  Rhys),  Richard  ap  Griffith 12 


222  Journal     Of  [Index 

Prig,  Mr.,    80 

Randolph,  John,  of  Roanoke, 117n 

Rawle,  Anna,  15,  38,  39,  116n,  191,  205 

Rawle,  Francis,   191n,  192n,  205n 

Rawle,  Margaret,  15,  18n,  19 In,  192n 

Rawle,  Rebecca  (Warner),   191n,  192n,  205n 

Rawle,  Sarah    (Burge),    191n 

Rawle,  William,   191n 

Rhys,  Richard  ap  Griffith  ap, 12 

Roberts,  Jenny,   151 

Rorebach,  M.,    160n 

Ross,  Clementina,   199n 

Ross,  John,   199n 

Rubenkam,  Anna  Catharine,   11 

Rubenkam,  John  Philip, 11 

Rush,  Dr.  Benjamin,   ,....,  41 

Rutter,  John,   207 

Rutter,   Polly,    208 

Seaton,  Alexander,  sketch  of, 112,  116,  118, 

123,  124,  128,  134,  138 

Shellenberg,  Henry,    159n 

Shoemaker,  Benjamin, 40 

Shoemaker,  D.  J.,  144 

Shoemakertown,  skirmish  near,    11  In 

Skippack  road, 67,  74n,  119n,  171 

Smallwood,  Bayne 78n,  86n,  135n 

Smallwood,  Captain  Heabard,   121n,  135,  137 

Smallwood,  Eleanor,   86n 

Smallwood,  General  William, 9,  23-25,  27,  28, 

36,  37,  38;  sketch  of,  78,  79,  80,  81,  89,  91, 

95,  99,  101,  102,  103,  105,  137n,  184, 185 

Smallwood,  Lucy  Heabard, 85n 

Smallwood,   Priscilla, 86n 

Smallwood,  Priscilla   (Heabard),   78n,    86n 

Smith,  Tacy  (Vanderen),  159n,  IGOn 

Smith,  Thomas,   159n 

Spencer,  Hannah,  68n 

Spencer,  Jacob,  68n 

Spencer,   John,    68n 

Spotswood,  Alexander,   157n 

Spotswood,  Dorothea,  157n 

Stenton, 116n 

Stephen,  General  Adam, 157n 


index]          Sally   Wister  223 

Stephen,  Anne,   158n 

Stevens,  General,    100 

Stirling,  Lord,   68 

Stocker,  Miss,    200 

Stoddard,  Captain  Josiah,  171;  sketch  of, 173 

Stoddard,  Josiah,  173n 

Stoddard,  Sarah,   173n 

Stoddert,  James,   85n 

Stoddert,  John,    85n 

Stoddert,  John  Truman,   85n 

Stoddert,  Lucy  Heabard  (Small wood),  85n 

Stoddert,  Major  John  Truman, 89n 

Stoddert,  Major  William  Truman,  24-32,  80,  84; 
sketch  of,  85,  87,  89,  90,  91,  92,  93,  94,  95, 
96,  97,  99,  101,  102,  103,  105,  110,  111,  112, 
115,  116,  117,  118,  119,  120,  124,  125,  126, 

128,  129,  130,  131,  132, 133 

Stoddert,  Margaret    (Smallwood),    86n 

Stoddert,  Marianna  Truman  (Greenfield),  85n 

Stoddert,  Mrs.  William  Truman,  43 

Stoddert,  Sally  (Massey) ,  87n 

Sullivan,  General,   120n 

Swan,  Captain  John,  sketch  of, 166 

Talman,   Benjamin,    140n 

Talman,  James,   140n 

Talman,  Polly,  or  Mary,   140n,  141 

Thoman,  Anna,   lln 

Thoman,  Durst,    lln 

Tilly,  Robert, 29,  30,  121,  122,  123,  124, 

*125,   128,    129,   130,    131,   132,   133,   134,   135, 

136, 137 

Trappe,  the,   68 

Tudor,  Owen  Glendower,   12 

Valley  Forge,   119n,   138,  177 

Vanderen,   Charles,    160n 

Vanderen,  George,   160n 

Vanderen,  John,    158n 

Vanderen,  John,  Jr., 160n 

Vanderen,  Joseph,   160n 

Vanderen,  Susanna,   160n 

Vanderen,  Susanna  (Holcomb), 158n 

Vanderen,   Tacy,    158,  165 

Ware,  Anne,  140n 


224  ouma  [Index 


Waring,  Lieutenant  Henry,  sketch  of,  ......  107,  108 

Washington,  General  George,  .......  66,  68,  74n, 

75n,  87n,   106,   109n,   118n,   119n,   138,   148n, 

157n,  177,  ................................   184 

Washington,  Martha  (Custis),  ...........  157n,  167 

Watson,  John  F.,  ............................       7n 

Watts,  Lieutenant  John  .......  154,  159,  160,  167, 

170,  171,   ..........  .......................   180 

West,  Mrs.  and  Miss,  .........................   142 

Wharton,  Elizabeth  (Fishbourne)  ,   ........  140n,  176 

Wharton,  Fishbourne,   ........................   140n 

Wharton,  Isaac,   .............................   192n 

Wharton,  Thomas  F.,  ........................   140n 

Wharton,  Thomas,  Jr.,   ..................  140o,  176 

Whitemarsh,  Emlen  Mansion  at,  ......  74n,  105,  139 

Whitemarsh,  Washington's  position  at, 

109n,  119n,  144 
Williams,  Hannah   (Price)  ,   ...................     12 

Williams,  Rees  John,    ....................      12 

Willing,   Charles,    ............................     39 

Willing,  Nancy,    ............................         39 

Wilmington,  ................................    137n 

Wissahickon,  ..............................  5,  100 

Wister,  Anna   (Thoman),   .....................     lln 

Wister,   Caspar,    .............................     10 

Wister,  Charles  J.,   ....................  7,  I8n,     41n 

Wister,  Charles  Jv  Jr.,   ............  7n,  10,  41n,     42 

Wister,  Daniel,  ...............  5,  11,  17,  40,         169 

Wister,  Elizabeth,    ......  18,  35,  38,  75,  96,  97, 

123,  151,  166,  168,  177,  178,  180,  ............   193 

Wister,  Elizabeth  (Harvey),  ..................     90n 

Wister,  Hannah,  ......................  18,  163,  182 

Wister,  John,  Sr.,  .......................  9,  11,     18n 

Wister,  John,  sketch  of,  ............  18,  25,  90,  156 

Wister,  Lowry   (Jones),  ......  11,  12,  18,  26,  40, 

67,  136,  159,  169,  174,  .....................   193 

Wister,  Sally,  5,  9,  13,  16,  17,  18,  22-42;  Journal 

of,  ....................................  65-185 

Wister,  Susanna,    ............................      18 

Wood,  Colonel  James,  Jr.,  9,  36,  80;  sketch  of, 

82,  86,  89,  97,  98,  99,  101,  106,  107 
Wood,   Colonel   James,   Sr.,    ..................     80n 

Wiister,  Hans  Caspar,   .......................       9 

Wynn,  Dr.  Thomas,  ..........................     11 


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